The Cairo Saga, Book 3: Legacies of War
by JA Baker
Summary: The Solaris Irregulars are ordered to the Lyran capital of Tharkad, and Cairo finds his past catching up with him…
1. Destination: Tukayyid

**The Cairo Saga, Book 3: Legacies of War  
****Chapter 1: Destination-_Tukayyid_**

_CNC_ Spirit Sight  
_Nadia Jump Point  
__CGR-135-134-T  
__Lyran Alliance_

Cairo scanned the print-off:

_From:_ _Precentor Simon Clearwater, ComStar  
__To: Major Steven Cairo, Solaris Irregulars.  
__Priority: Most Urgent  
__Message reads:_

_Critical situation developing on Tukayyid. Most urgent you make best speed for ComStar Command. Forgo stop at Tharkad. Make you command as battle-ready as possible. Report to Colonel McKinlay on arrival._

_Message ends._

Cairo crumpled the sheet of paper, swearing under his breath: The planned stopover at Tharkad was meant to be his first chance to see his daughter in almost two years. He swore again, realizing that he was going to have to break the news to Sinead: she was liable to be even angrier than he was.

He pushed off from the com-station and floated over to the holo-tank in the center of the bridge. Star-Commodore Ivan Leroux looked at him, "Bad new, Quiaff?"

"Aff." Cairo nodded, "We have been ordered to proceed to Tukayyid without delay. I don not know what is brewing, but it must be big: the message came over the Black-Box and was triple-encrypted." He handed over the message to the ship's commander.

Leroux scanned the message; "It bodes ill when a unit in a state such as yours is expected to be battle ready."

"We will be lucky to field a company, even if we work flat-out between here and Tukayyid. Add to that, I have to go tell my wife that it will be another six months before we see Jane again."

"I will tell the doctor to have sick-bay ready. It should take us approximately 5-days to reach the Tukayyid."

Cairo smiled, and pushed-off towards the hatch.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Cairo made his way down to the Mech-bay of the DropShip carrying the remains of the Irregulars. He found McCoy working on a damaged _Shadow Cat_ OmniMech. "You better stop that Shamus: We need to get as many Mechs as battle-ready in the next 7-to-8 days as we can: something big is going down on Tukayyid and Clearwater wants us in on it. Get Carpenters _Templar_ on-line: I'll use it until I get a new _Orion_."

The tech nodded, "And have you told Sinead that we're not stopping at Tharkad as planed?"

Cairo shook his head; "I'm on my way now."

"Good luck…"

**TBC…**


	2. Unfinished business

**The Cairo Saga, Book 3: Legacies of War  
****Chapter 2: Unfinished business**

_Tukayyid City  
__Tukayyid  
__Free Rasalhague Republic_

Cairo was in a bad mood as he walked across the tarmac towards the 4x4 that carried Colonel McKinlay: the 7-day trip to Tukayyid had been one-long round of repairs and arguments. They had been able to get a company of Mech's up and running, but his near constant argument with Sinead had taken its toll, laving him emotional and physically drained.

The door of the 4x4 opened, and a man in a SLDF uniform stepped out. Cairo raised an eyebrow: there weren't many SLDF unit's left around after the restored Star League had been disbanded at the end of the Davion Civil War. He walked up to the stranger and saluted, "Major Steven Cairo reporting as ordered, sir."

"Colonel McKinlay." The SLDF officer returned the salute, "I want to thank you for taking this mission Major: this situation is bad, and yours is the only unit with the experience we need to deal with the problem."

"Well sir, all we we're able to get working and battle ready in time is a company of Mech's and two points of Elementals. And if you don't mind me asking: why was a unit in such a bad state as mine tapped?"

"Clearwater said you were plain-spoken. Ok, this is what we know." He led the way back to the 4x4 and a portable holo-projector, "A couple of months ago we got reports of pirate activity in the former Clan Smoke Jaguar Occupation Zone. I ordered in my best unit to find out what was going on, and what they found was shocking: the pirates were mainly former Smoke Jaguar warriors out to get revenge on the Inner Sphere."

"We took down their base on a world called Casere here in the Free Rasalhague Republic. But, by the time we got there, the bulk of their forces had already left for here, and had managed to take over the ComStar command centre and shut the HPG network down." McKinlay wiped his brow, "I don't think I need to tell you what this means for the war effort."

"Without the HPG network, we're down to ship's and the black-boxes to communicate, and that's no way to fight a war."

McKinlay nodded, "Now you understand why we need back up: Shadow Company is good, but not invincible."

Cairo's eyes widened "Are we talking about the same Shadow Company that was on Huntress about 4-5 years ago?"

"I see you remember them. I read Piecemaker's report about you little trip to Bagera: I was impressed."

Cairo shrugged, "It was something I had to do." He handed over a data-pad, "Like I said, we've managed to re-build a company: the Command Lance is me in a TLR1-O _Templar, _along with a TDK-7X _Thunder Hawk_, a NSR-9J _Nightstar_ and a BNC-5S _Banshee_. The second lance is made up of a _Thor-prime,_ a WHM-8D _Warhammer_, a HA1-0 _Hauptmann _and aZEU-9T _Zeus_. We also managed to get a scout lance made up, but we have to go collect a CN9-D3 _Centurion_ from my DropShip across the spaceport to complete it, but it will consist of the _Centurion_, a RZK-9S _Razorback_, a _Nobori-Nin_ B and a _Jenner IIC_ 2. We do have two points of Elemental we can deploy, but I'd like to keep them in reserve in case the enemy tries to make a run for the spaceport. I wish we could give you more, but the fighting on Callisto V was bad."

"Well, get your people mounted-up: we've managed to stall the Clanners by offering a Batchall for the compound, but we can't trust them not to try something."

Cairo nodded, heading back to the DropShip.

**TBC…**


	3. The waiting game

**The Cairo Saga, Book 3: Legacies of War**

**Chapter 3: The waiting game**

_Tukayyid City_

_Tukayyid_

_Free Rasalhague Republic_

The converted warehouse was a hive of activity: Cairo had, despite McKinlay's orders, refrained from ordering his pilots to their Mechs. Instead they sat around in small groups, cooling vests on and neural helmets ready, trying to relax before the impending battle.

He sipped his now cold coffee and looked over at the Tech's who where making the finishing touches to Dancer's old D9 _Centurion_. He was more than a little upset that Sinead had talked Rob into lending her his old Mech: it had been put into storage onboard the _Wataru_ when the Irregulars had been formed. It still had the Clan weapons that McCoy had installed back on Huntress, but after a few years inactivity, it was in need of a good cleaning.

Cleaning her hands with an old rag, Sinead walked over to him, "Getting your hourly caffeine fix I see?" Cairo just nodded. Sinead sat down next to him, "You'll still angry that I lied to you." Cairo shrugged, taking another sip of his coffee. Sinead shook her head, "If I had told you the truth you would have gone back to the HPG and tried to fulfil that oath you made."

Cairo looked at her, "They detonated the nuke Sinead: 500,000-people are dead because of me."

"Yes, and no-doubt more will die because of you actions, but they would have detonated the bomb anyway. Then they would have had you."

"You don't know that, no-one does. If I hadn't tried that stupid plan of mine this might never have happened."

"Damn you Steven: if you'd given up, everyone here would be dead." Sinead waved her arm around, motioning to the other Irregulars.

"Doesn't make me feel any better." Cairo shrugged, "I should have known that they'd use the nuke anyway. I just didn't think."

"I saw the look on your face when you saw the transition, I know what that expression means: you don't think when you're like that, you just act."

Cairo was about to respond when his pager went off. He unclipped it from his belt and scanned the small LCD screen. One word: **_GO_**.

The coffee cup fell from his hands and shattered on the hard concrete floor of the warehouse. The Irregulars looked over to him, and as one, started running to their Mech's. Sinead stopped briefly to kiss him on the cheek, than ran over to the _Centurion_ and climbed up the rope ladder.

Cairo's heart was pounding as he clambered through the hatch and into the _Templar's_ cockpit. He still wasn't used to the OmniMech's controls, but he had spent a large part of the last two days going over the systems in the simulators. He took the reactor off standby and powered up all the primary systems. The radio was filled with babble as the Lance commanders got their commands ready.

He smiled slightly as he activated the company wide channel, "Irregulars, move out!" He moved the throttle forwards, and felt the ground shake as the 85-ton Mech started to move towards the now open doors.

Everything was simpler from the command-couch of a Mech…

TBC… 


	4. Big trouble, little Tukayyid

**The Cairo Saga, Book 3: Legacies of War  
****Chapter 4: Big trouble, little Tukayyid**

_Tukayyid City  
__Tukayyid  
__Free Rasalhague Republic_

The concrete canyons of the warehouse district forced the Irregulars to keep a tighter formation then Cairo would have liked: his scout units where unable to spread out and provide advanced warning of enemy Mech's.

Despite himself, Cairo was quite happy with that: Sinead was where he could keep an eye on her.

His eyes caught the flair of a DropShip drive as three ships came in for landing. Cairo brought up the magnification on his secondary monitor, then uttered a string of curses under his breath when he saw the markings on their side: Clan Smoke Jaguar. He activated his long-range communication system, "Lancaster, this is High-ball: what is going on up there?"

Star-Commodore Ivan Leroux's voice came back over the link, "_Sorry about that High-ball: they managed to bluff their way in by pretending to be ComGuards reinforcements, and waited until we were out of position before making a run for the planet_."

"It makes you wonder how they ever managed to stop your people here in this first place…" Cairo sighed under his breath, "When will Lancaster 1 and 2 be in position to offer fire-support?"

"_Lancaster-1 can be in position in five minuets, but we will only be able to make one pass before we are over the horizon. Lancaster-2 will be in position in ten minuets, and will be able to hold above the target zone indefinitely._" Leroux sounded less than optimistic, "_Can you hold them that long?_"

"Call me back in eleven minuets." Cairo gritted his teeth, "High-Ball out."

The warehouse gradually shrunk as they reached the edge of the spaceport, and Cairo was finally able to get a good view from the cockpit of his _Templar_ OmniMech: the Smoke Jaguar prisoners had managed to escape and highjack several ComsGuard BattleMech's, catching two Shadow Company Mech's, downing what looked like an _Uziel_, and savagely damaging a _Catapult_.

Cairo tried to remember Shadow Company's TOE: if it was the same as on Huntress, then the _Catapult_ belonged to a Warrior named Boyd. But that was a long time ago, and he didn't trust his memory that much.

The _Catapult_ scored a pyretic-victory against a Jaguar-piloted _Orion_: destroying the larger Mech as its own reactor went critical. Cairo saw the Shadow Company MechWarrior punch out, and passed the information onto search and rescue, before levering his crosshairs over a _Grand Dragon_ that had just come into view: he knew that the Mech did not belong to his command, and the file McKinlay had given him made not mention of one among Shadow Company. Cairo took deep breath, and then letting half of it out, fired his Extended Range Particle Projection Cannon.

The beam of man-made lightning stabbed at the other Mech's right arm, melting away a ton of armour as it went. Sparks played over the Mech's shoulder, no-doubt fazing its pilot slightly.

Cairo smiled as he opened up the company-wide channel: "Time to Rock and Roll people!"

**TBC…**


	5. Like Cats and Dogs

**The Cairo Saga, Book 3: Legacies of War  
****Chapter 5: Like cats and dogs**

_Tukayyid City  
__Tukayyid  
__Free Rasalhague Republic_

The _Grand Dragon_ returned fire with its own ER-PPC and its LRM-10 rack, scoring hits across the _Templar's_ front, but doing nothing more than chipping the Mech's heavy armor. Cairo watched the Mech stumble as 4-Guass Rifle slugs hit it, blasting one arm clear. The Smoke Jaguar Warrior decided that discretion was the better part of valour, and turned, running at full sped towards the newly landed DropShips.

Cairo bit his lip: the three Smoke Jaguar DropShip's, a _Union-C_, a _Condor_ and a _Carrier_, could hold at lest a Trinary of Mech's, plus 20-light vehicles, a platoon of infantry and 10 Aerospace Fighters: with that sort of firepower, the Jaguar's would be able to roll over the Irregulars and smash what remained of Shadow Company before the two WarShips in orbit were in a position to offer assistance.

He opened up the company-wide channel, "Ok people, this is going to be hard, but if we can keep them bottled up long enough, Lancaster will be able to deal with them from orbit. Now the first thing we have to do is stop that _Grand Dragon_ from making it to the DropShip and reporting in. I want everyone to fire what ever you have at it. Take it down, and do whatever necessary to make sure that the pilot doesn't report in." Cairo cut the Com-link, and lighting up his jump jets, lifted the Templar up an over a two story building, bring in it down in the middle of a crossroad that lead towards the DropShips.

The damaged _Grand Dragon_ rounded the last corner and found itself right in the Assault Mech's crosshairs. Cairo pulled the trigger, and sent a stream of 12cm cluster rounds from his LB 20-X Autocannon towards the other Mech. The lighter Mech's armour seemed to ripple as the Depleted Uranium shards picked at its armour. Cairo added his 5 Medium Pulse Lasers to the attack, sending the heat level in his cockpit soaring. The computer started warning of automatic shutdown, so Cairo stopped.

The _Grand Dragon_ staggered a few steppes, then started off along a side street that took it out of the _Templar's_ line of sight. Cairo started his Mech forward, but a damaged ankle actuator caused by his bad landing slowed its pace. He reached the turn off, and was greeted by a spread of LRM's from the fleeing Jaguar. Cairo looked at his heads-up display, trying to find someway of cutting-off the _Grand Dragon_ before it reached the protection of the DropShip's weaponry.

He was still trying to formulate a plan when his sensors showed a friendly Mech step out from an alleyway further down the road and started to fire at the _Grand Dragon_. Cairo took a small step forward so he could see who it was: it's was Sinead's _Centurion_.

The Mech's right arm was raised, and its Clan-built 80-mm Ultra-Autocannon was pumping round after round into the back of the other Mech. Cairo saw the _Grand Dragon_ fall to its knees as its back snapped under the onslaught. The Mech seemed to glow for a second as its reactor lost containment, and then it exploded into a billion pieces, showering the area with debris.

Cairo's eyes went wide as he saw his wife's Mech lifted up and thrown into a building by the force of the explosion.

**TBC…**


	6. Actions and Reactions

Tukayyid City Spaceport,

Tukayyid,

Free Rasalhague Republic.

Cairo's first instinct was to start is Mech forward so he could see how badly damaged his wife's _Centurion_ was. He had barley taken a step when his view was blocked by the imposing visage of Robert Dancers _TDK-7X Thunder Hawk_ blocked his view. He was about to scream a string of curses over the radio when the 100-tonne Mech shudder under enemy fire: the Smoke Jaguars on the DropShip had disembarked and where heading down the street. Cairo's mind fell back on it's training, and he automatically backed his Templar back round the corner.

Dancer's voice came over the radio, "You need to calm down Steve: I know how you feel, I felt the same back on Callisto-V, when I saw Rebecca go down as we fought our way to the DropShip. You go rushing in there and you'll just get yourself killed, and that won't help her!" Cairo tried to relax, but the unfamiliar cockpit made it difficult: had this been his old Orion, he would have been able to react faster, and Sinead would not be in danger, "I hear you Rob." He changed frequencies, "Sinead, can you hear me?"

"Steven? What happened?" Sinead's voice sounded week. Cairo gripped his joystick so hard his knuckles went white, "You got caught in the blast when the _Grand Dragon_ went critical: your Mech fell through a wall." Sinead coughed, "I'm hurt real bad Steve, I can't feel m legs, and their blood everywhere." Cairo wanted to move his Mech, but the Dancer had used a second radio channel to order the others to box him in. He looked at his heads-up display, "Scout Lance, pull back to the DropShip and pick up as many of the Elementals as you can, and have the port authorities send an ambulance. Everyone else, provide covering fire: we have to keep the Jaguars from advancing too far down the road."

The radio was full of voices confirming his orders, and Lance commanders began to sort out their own individual units, getting them into positions where they could provide suppressing fire on the Trinary of Mech's leapfrogging up the road. Cairo checked the timer on his HUD: 90-secounds until the _Spirit Sight_ was in a position to get a shot in at the surface, "This is Highball calling Lancaster 1, fire-for-affect, my position plus 500-meters due west. Request support from fast-movers ASAP." Star-Commodore Ivan Leroux's sounded ill at ease, "Please confirm target Highball." Cairo looked up, even though he had no hope of seeing the WarShip in the sunlight sky, "Highball confirms fire-for-affect, my position plus 500-meters due west." "Lancaster 1 confirms, 60-seconds until target." Leroux still sounded tense.

"Lancaster 1, this is Proteus, disregard Highballs last transition, and fire on the Jaguars Landing Zone, maximum effect." The new voice cut in over the babble in the background. Cairo's eyes went wide when he recognised the other person, "Clearwater you bastard, don't do this!" The Precentor's voice remained calm, "Lancaster 1, Confirm target as Jaguar LZ." Leroux's voice was full of angst, "Lancaster 1 confirms target as LZ. Firing!"

The blinding beam of light from the Covert's bow-mounted Class-45 Navel Laser cut through the air like the finger of some vengeful god. The Condor-class DropShip exploded as the beam cut through into its engineering section and set of its fuel tanks, sending fire raining down from the Sky. Leroux's voice came back over the link, "Lancaster 1 is out of position: Lancaster 2 will be in orbit in t-minus 5-muinets. I am sorry Steven. Fast Movers will be on your position in 60-seconds."

Cairo didn't even hear the words, let alone respond.

To Be Continued__


	7. Avenging Angels

Airspace above Tukayyid City,

Tukayyid,

Free Rasalhague Republic.

The five _Sulla_ Prime OmniFighters of Echo-Star tore their way through the air in a tight V formation, guided by the IFF bacons of the Irregulars Mech's. In the lead fighter, Star Commander Scot, formally of Clan Wolf, was as deep in thought as he dared go: being taken bondsman by a freebirth, and a Periphery native at that, had angered him greatly at first, but over the last five years he had come to respect those who had captured him, even grown to like them, after a fashion.

He gritted his teeth: he was Star Commander Scot of the house of Leroux, a trueborn Clan Warrior, the product of 300-years of selective breeding and genetic manipulation, the pinnacle of human achievement. His OmniFighter was one of the most advanced weapons of war ever made, and he soared the skies like a vengeful god, distributing death and destruction on those below.

Travelling at twice the speed of sound, the fighters made their first pass at less than 100-meters, screaming though the air, firing volleys of Laser and Practical-beam fire as they sped over the Smoke Jaguar LZ, tearing at armour and FerroCrete as they went: several light-Mech's went down, damaged but not destroyed, and infantry scattered. The Mech's and DropShip's returned fire, but the fighters where moving to fast to track.

Star Colonel Wade Showers, the commander of the Smoke Jaguar reinforcements, ordered his own fighters to intercept and destroy Echo-Star: air superiority was vital to his battle-plan.

Ten Aerospace fighters, an assortment of Clan and Inner Sphere designs, took up pursuit of the Irregular's, chasing them into a thunderstorm that was blowing in from the east. This was a fatal mistake: a second Star of OmniFighters, this one made up of 3 _Jagatai's_ and 2 _Scytha's_, had been deployed from the _Natures Wrath_, and where laying in wait for the renegade fighters. A deadly game of cat and mouse developed in the dark clouds above Tukayyid City.

Tukayyid City Spaceport,

Tukayyid,

Free Rasalhague Republic.

On the ground, things where not going so well for the: the scout lance had returned with the Elementals, but the Smoke Jaguars had made several attempts to advance on the Irregulars, forcing them to take shelter behind abandoned buildings, and the resulting fire-fight was taking a toll on both sides. The Irregulars had managed to down a pair of _Champions_, and had damaged a _Shadow Hawk IIC_, but had paid the price when a Bombardier had found a weak-spot in the armour of a HA1-0 _Hauptmann_ in Jack Cameron's lance, downing the powerful OmniMech, and it had fallen against a WHM-8D _Warhammer_ in the same Lance, disabling both Mech's in one go, putting a huge dent in the Irregulars available firepower.

Cairo kept firing, his Medium Pulse Lasers and ER-PPC worrying the armour on a Black Knight that seemed to be retrofitted with Clan-Tech. Cairo cursed under his breath: in it's current configuration, his Templar's most powerful weapon was it's LB 20-X autocannon, but the weapons relative short range prohibited him form using it. His cockpit was getting dangerously hot from the extensive use of Energy weapons, and he was forced to lower his Mech into a crouch behind a building to give it time to cool down.

The radio crackled, "Major, this is Point-Commander Rix. We have reached your wife's Mech: she has passed-out, but we should be able to extract her without any serious trouble as long as you can keep the Smoke Jaguars off our backs." Cairo gritted his teeth; "Get her out of here Rix, and leave the Jaguars to us!" He raised his Mech to its full height, "Irregulars, Stand To!" every one of the remaining Mech's positioned it's self where it had a clear field of view. "Volley fire, on my command. FIRE!"

As one, the Irregulars opened-up with everything they had.

TBC


	8. Countdown to destruction

Tukayyid City Spaceport,

Tukayyid,

Free Rasalhague Republic.

The air was filed with sound as a wall of weapons fire rolled across the low roofs like a tsunami: Laser and PPC bolts, Autocannon and Gauss rounds, LRM's and ATM's alike turned the air into a howling maelstrom of death. The Jaguars tried to dodge, but there was nowhere to go: a _Mercury_ scout Mech vanished as the weapons fire reached the outer defences. Several shot's reached the 2 remaining DropShip's, denting and scaring their armour, but nothing more.

Star Colonel Wade Showers surveyed what remained of his forces: 4 Mech's where down, destroyed or disabled, while the others where all damaged in some way. His own _Black Knight_, an Inner Sphere Mech taken as isorla and retrofitted with Clan weaponry, was showing red along it's left arm and leg where it had taken hits from a Gauss Rifle and ER-PPC. His roar of anger echoed around his cockpit, "Bravo star will advance down the center, Alfa and Charlie Star will advance along the flanks. We will deal with this Stravag scum that dares to stand in our way, then link up with Star Captain Reznor and his forces, and then we will crush the remaining Inner Sphere forces on this world. I swear to you, that before this day is done, Clan Smoke Jaguar will be avenged!" The other warriors of the Trinary responded immediately, "Seyla!"

Cairo gritted his teeth as the Jaguars poured down the road, "Hold!"

His HUD counted down this distance:

500-meters "Hold!"

400-meters "Hold!"

300-meters "Hold!"

The indicated light on his threat assessment computer started flashing a bright red; indicating multiple targeting locks from hostile units, "Hold!"

The HUD read 200-meters, "**FIRE!**"

Again the Irregulars fired, this time adding their short-range weapons to the onslaught: a second _Shadow Hawk IIC fell_, almost melting as it was hit again and again, armour and internal structure flowing in rivers of molten metal. Cairo trained his crosshairs over a _Lancelot_ and fired everything me had, drilling into it with a hellish onslaught of Laser, PPC and LBX weapons fire.

_Robert Dancer's Thunder_ Hawk staggered back, a point of Elementals leaping onto the 100-tone Mech, ripping at its armour, trying to find a week spot. Cairo twisted his Templar's torso to the side, and fired his Medium Pulse Lasers, knocking one of the genetically engineered infantry warriors off of its perch on the other Mech's shoulder. It landed on it's back on the hard FerroCrete below. It struggled to rise, but Dance shifted his Mech slightly, bring it's right leg down onto of the prone figure. Cairo didn't bother to see what was left: he turned his attention back to the battle.

The Smoke Jaguars had managed to push back the Irregulars, forcing them to fold their left flank, inadvertently moving the fight away from the downed _Centurion_ and the on-going rescue mission. Cairo glanced at the timer in the corner of his HUD: 3-muinets still remained until the _Natures Wrath_ was in position. Unless the Irregulars held their line and pushed the Clanners back to a safe distance, it would make no difference: the WarShip would be ordered to fire, and both sides would be wiped out in the blink of the eye.

4 new contacts appeared on Cairo's radar screen, but through the combination of ECM's and metallic debris, he could only identify one of them: a _Wolfhound_ with a ComsGuards IFF transponder. Remembering the confusion earlier when prisoner had escaped and taken control of ComStar Mech's, he prepared for them to be either friendly or hostile, positioning his Mech in the middle of the crossroads, one arm pointing north, and the other south.

TBC


	9. Nor shall my sword sleep in hand

Tukayyid City Spaceport,

Tukayyid,

Free Rasalhague Republic.

Cairo's trigger fingers gripped the controls tightly, his eyes darting from side to side, trying to work out where the next attack would come from: the confirmed Clan forces to the North, or the Lance of unknown Mech's heading in from the South. Alarms started going off, both in Cairo's mind and on the _Templar's_ control panel, as the two remaining Some Jaguar DropShip's took to the air, struggling to manoeuvre effectively this close to the planets surface. The Spheroid _Union-C_ struggled to maintain it's upright position, while the _Carrier_ forced to use its transit drive to maintain altitude at such low speeds. The smaller craft opened fire at the Lance closing from the south, adding weight to the chances of them being friendly to the Irregulars. Cairo was willing to except the possibility, but without a trace of doubt: was the Smoke Jaguar commander willing to fire on his own men to get them close enough to take the Irregulars from the rear.

A voice crackled over the radio, "Major Cairo, this is Capt. Piecemaker, Shadow Company, please respond!" Cairo glanced at his communications console: the transmission was coming from an _Awesome_ in the Lance approaching from the south. Cairo gritted his teeth: back on Huntress, Piecemaker had treated him like a fool because he was from the Periphery. He smiled slightly, remembering that he now out-ranked the other MechWarrior, "Welcome to the party, Captain. I'm sure glad you could make it: us boys from the Periphery couldn't fight our way out of a wet paper bag without you fine gentlemen from the Inner Sphere to help us. Tell me: what end of the Autocannon do I point at the bad guys again?"

Piecemaker sounded less than happy, "I'm sure that you know exactly what your doing sir, but I was ordered here to assist you in holding back the Jaguars until the rest of Shadow Company deals with the two Star's still lose in the main part of the base." Cairo swore under his breath, "How the HELL did you stop the Clanners here the first time? What did you do: put something in their drinking water?" Cairo span his Mech round suddenly, firing the ER-PPC and 3 Medium Pulse Lasers in the _Templar's_ right arm at a Smoke Jaguar _Bombardier_, coring out it's left torso, and driving the heat levels in his cockpit well into the red, "I mean, these guy's are good and all, but you had the outnumbered and beaten. You all but wiped out the Smoke Jaguars, but here they are, large as life, ripping the shit out of what little remain of my command!"

The _Carrier_ fired a final volley before pulling back from the fight, twin Gauss Slugs ripping into Cairo's Mech, tearing the left arm from it's socket, sending the LB 20-X to the ground. It took all of Cairo's skill to stop the 85-tone Mech from falling the ground, and he was forced to walk it into a wall to keep it upright. Cairo wiped the sweat from his eyes and slammed a hand down on the shutdown override, stopping the Mech from shutting its self down. He switched radio frequencies, "This is Highball calling DropShip _Broken Hammer_: get over here and teach this bastard a lessen!" A bright light in the eastern sky followed a half garbled reply, signalling the launch of the _Overlord-C_ DropShip from the Spaceport.

The metal leviathan made it's way across the sky; it's drive flairs turning night into day. A volley of laser and missile fire shot out from the _Broken Hammer_, reaching out to the Smoke Jaguar DropShip's. The _Carrier _pulled back, swinging away from the larger vessel, leaving the _Union-C_ to fight it out with its bigger cousin. Like WarShip's of the bygone age of sale, the two vessels traded broadsides as they hung less than 200-meters above the ground, slowly rotating to bring fresh weapons and armour to bear on their opponents.

Cairo took a moment to consider the view. It was one of the most amazing things he had ever seen: Beautiful and deadly at the same time.

The battle on the ground brought Cairo back to reality with a thump, "Capt. Piecemaker, move your Mech's to the left flank and help hold the Jaguars back: we have to keep them from getting to close to us long enough for the _Natures Wrath_ to get into position. If we can do that, it's game over." Piecemaker acknowledge, moving his _Awesome _towards his assigned zone, followed by the other Mech's in his lance: a _Timber Wolf_, a _Thanatos_, and a _Wolfhound_ with ComStar markings.

Cairo lit up his Jump Jets, lifting his battered _Templar_ up and into the thick of the fighting.

To Be Continued


	10. The Challenge

Tukayyid City Spaceport,

Tukayyid,

Free Rasalhague Republic.

The _Templar_ landed with all the grace you could expect from an 85-tone Mech, and Cairo was forced to compensate by bending it's knees and shifting the right to compensate for the loss of missing left arm. He straightened up, and joined Piecemaker in attacking a Smoke Jaguar Rifleman IIC. He glanced at his HUD: Vassili Dante was down, his BNC-5S _Banshee_ lying across the street, slowing the enemy advance. Jack Cameron's _Thor_ was resting against the side of a building, it's cockpit missing after the form Wolf's Dragoon had been forced to punch out. The remains of the Scout Lance where playing a deadly game of tag with two Smoke Jaguar light's and a point of Elementals. All in all, Cairo was down to 7 operational Mech's, 11 if you counted Piecemaker's lance. The Jaguars had lost 5 Mech's, but having started with 15, they where holding their own, if not winning.

The air was full of light and sound as the Smoke Jaguar _Union-C_ DropShip exploded less than 200-meters to the west, showing the area with debris and burning fuel. The Broken Hammer was buffeted by the shockwave, and threatened crash, but the pilot piled on the power, and the _Overload _rocked up high into the air, leaving the Mech's to fight amongst themselves. Everything was braking down to a melee with no clear way of seeing who was fighting who. Cairo shrugged to himself as he linked his IFOF system to his HUD and started taking pot shots at random Mech's that registered as enemies. A Leaped class DropShip with unfamiliar marking screamed across the sky, firing wildly at the Smoke Jaguar Mech's, but also hitting Cairo's forces: He'd deal with the pilot later, if he lived.

A voice came over the radio: "This is Star Colonel Wade Showers. I wish to speak to the commanding officer of the ComStar force defending this facility" Cairo took a deep breath, ""This is Major Steven Cairo, commander of the Solaris Irregulars. What is it you wish to say?" He was careful to avoid contractions when he spoke, knowing it would just enrage the Clan officer. "This battle is costing both our forces dearly and destroying this base piece by piece… something neither of us wishes to see. I propose we settle this by zellbrigen…you are familiar with this form of combat, quiaff?" Showers continued.

Cairo's eyes narrowed, "I know the rules - we Freebirths are not as ignorant as you believe us to be" he started a trace program; trying to decipher which Mech the transmission was coming from. Showers seemed strangely happy, "Good. Very well, I shall order my forces to disengage and withdraw. I shall allow you time to make a decision. If I do not receive a reply within ten minutes I shall order them to resume their attack." Cairo knew he had no other choice, "Rest assured Star Colonel – you will have your reply. Cairo out."

Dancer voice cut-in on the company channel, "Are you out of your mind Steven? You're good, very good, but this guy's been trained to kill from birth! We don't have to win: we just have to keep them contained for a few minuets more while the Natures Wrath get's into position. We can do it!" Cairo sighed, "At the cost of how many more lives Rob?" Rix's voice came over the link, "Sir, I do not believe that this is a wise course of action: the Star Colonel has a reputation for being a formidable MechWarrior, and for never taking prisoners. If you face him, there is a good chance you will be killed. I told you one before that to lose a warrior in battle is expected; but to lose one due to personal feelings is unacceptable. You are allowing your personal feelings to cloud your judgment." The Elemental sounded uneasy, "I do not know how your wife would react to your death." 

Cairo knew the man spoke the truth, "I know Rix, I know: I trust you to keep her safe if anything happens to me." He saw the Elemental raise his arm to his mid section, "As you command, sir." Cairo changed channels again, "Piecemaker, you're next senior: if anything happens to me, get everyone out and call down a orbital strike. The code word is Pegasus." The Shadow company commander acknowledge, his _Awesome_ turning to face Cairo's _Templar_, "I will sir, I will."

Cairo cut back to the frequency Showers has used, "This is Major Cairo to Star Colonel Showers…I accept your challenge…"

To Be Continued


	11. The Dance of Death

Tukayyid City Spaceport,

Tukayyid,

Free Rasalhague Republic.

Cairo moved his one-armed _Templar_ forward, dumping the last to rounds for its missing LB 20-X autocannon as he went.  He stopped the Mech in the center of the main road running trough the neighbourhood, it's right arm held out to the side slightly. A _Black Knight_ in Clan Smoke Jaguar colours stood 100-meters down the road, rent's in its armour, coolant leaking from ruptured heat sinks. The two Mech's looked like they had been to hell and back, and that wasn't far from the truth.

A now familiar voice came over the radio, "I am impressed Steven: very few freebirths would have the honour to face me one on one like this. Perhaps if things ad worked out differently, I would have taken you as a bondsman." Cairo gritted his teeth, "I am not sure my wife would like that: she has grown used to having me around, helping with the kids." It was a calculated insult: Cairo needed Showers angry enough to make a mistake, but not enraged enough to order a full on attack.

Showers seemed non-fazed, "Yes, I am beginning to understand you freebirths better, but I can not say I understand the concept of pair-bonding. Tell me Steven, which of the so-called 'Great Houses' to you come from?" Cairo had found his opening, "I hate to tell you this, Wade, but I am not from the Inner Sphere: my home world lies in the Periphery, outside of the former Star League." His eyes narrowed and he found himself leaning forward, "You have been trading pleasantries with someone so-far down your scale of importance you can hardly see me."

The shot hit home, enraging Showers, "STARVAG!" The _Black Knight_ surged forward, rushing Cairo's _Templar_ at near top-speed.

Cairo waited until the last possible moment before igniting his jump jets, and his Mech blearily cleared the other Mech, and came down heavily, shattering it's other ankle, almost toppling the Omni. Cairo recovered just in time to catch Showers in the rear with his two ER Medium Lasers. He tried firing again, but the weapons shorted out as the focusing crystals melted under the extreme heat. The feedback shorted out several circuits in the cockpit, blowing out the interior lights. Cairo found himself reduced to operating his controls by the glow of his instrument panel.

Showers returned fire, unleashing all his weapons, heedless off the cost to his heat levels. Cairo felt his make shake and shudder as the weapons found their mark: the twin ER-PPC's finished off what was left of the armour coving the _Templar's_ left torso, turning the remaining internal components into slag. The Large Laser cut an ugly scare down the Mech's left leg, while the 4 Medium Lasers took all but the last scraps of armour away from his left leg, weakening the limb even more.

Cairo returned fire with everything he had while he tried to dodge to the left, protecting his damaged flank to the homicidal Star Colonel. He was rewarded with the destruction of one of the Mech's ER-PPC's, as well as two Medium Lasers, but he paid for it when his jump jets shorted out due to a short circuit, enveloping his Mech in a dark oily smoke that foretold of a series internal fire.

Robert Dancer's urgent voice came over the radio, "Punch out Steve: she's going to blow!" Cairo responded by ripping the com-system from the bulkhead and dropping it to the floor. The air insider his cockpit was growing hot and stale, the air-conditioning having long since packed in. Cairo took a deep breath, and then fired everything he had at the Black Knight, trying one last desperate time to down the other Mech.

Showers weathered the storm, pushing his Mech forward as it fell apart beneath him, intent on killing Cairo if it was the last thing he ever did.

The two Mech's collided with a sickening crunch, armour plates giving way, internal structure bending and entangling, locking the two avatars of war together in a deadly embrace. Cairo found himself starring face to face with Showers, only the thick Perspex of their cockpit visors separating them from each other. The burning look of pure hate in Showers eyes was a mirror of Cairo's.

As if reading each other's minds, the two men unbuckled their safety harnesses and made for the escape hatches. They clambered out onto their respective machines, intent of finishing it hand to hand. Showers pulled a long bladed combat knife from a scarab in his boot, holding it menacingly I one had, his eyes burning into Cairo, who reached round into the small of his back and pulled his Kukri, the heavy curved blade held tightly in his hand, lighting reflecting off of the razor-sharp cutting edge.

The two men leapt at each other, steel clashing against steel as they struggled to gain the upper hand. Cairo lost his footing on a patch of coolant, falling onto his back. Showers lashed out with his knife, slashing across Cairo's chest, severing the tubes within his cooling-vest, cutting into his skin, but being deflected by the other mans ribcage. He raised the log blade above his head and lunged forward.

Cairo only just managed to react in time: be brought up his Kukri low, the keen tip of the curved knife entering Showers just above his navel, and travelling up behind his rib-cage, burring itself in his heart. The Star Colonel went rigged with shock as the light of life slowly drained from his eyes, his blood running down the side of the Mech with the rainwater.

To Be Continued.


	12. Una Salus Victus Nullam Sperare Salutem

Tukayyid City Spaceport,

Tukayyid,

Free Rasalhague Republic.

The rain-stung Cairo's face, the heavy weight of Showers body pinning him to the back on his Mech, his depleted strength nowhere near enough to move it. A fierce burning sensation tore across his chest as the chemicals from his cooling vest leaked-out, mixing with his blood.

Voices, seemingly distant, clambered for his attention, shadows moving across his field of vision, his eyes refusing to focus.

"For god's sake, someone call an ambulance!"

"Is he alive?"

"For now. Give me some cover here. You, bring that flashlight!"

A flash of light.

"He's not responding! Where the hell is that ambulance? Medic!"

"What of the Star Colonel?"

"He's dead pal, you lost."

"Christ, he's crashing!"

The dark border to the world started to creep slowly inwards.

Tukayyid City Hospital,

Tukayyid,

Free Rasalhague Republic.

Pain was something Cairo was becoming overly use to.

It could be said that this is a good thing for a soldier, as it enables them to work through it, but it can also become addictive. He hadn't gotten that far yet, but he was getting dangerously close.

Cairo guessed that he was in hospital from the fact that he wasn't dead. His mind felt like it was full of cottonwood, and his hearing sounded like he was underwater. His eyes slowly opened, the bright light emanating from over his head almost blinding him. A figure in a grey uniform sat in a chair across the room, his eyes fixed on Cairo. The man reached for a radio, "He's wake. Ok."

The stranger moved his chair so it was next to Cairo's bed, "Major, can you hear me?" Cairo nodded, his throat to dry to speak. The man smiled, "You gave us quite a scare for a while: you suffered a slight case of coolant poisoning when Showers slashed you across the chest. Apart from that, you have a concussion, a broken arm, dehydration, and you managed re-brake four ribs that you damaged on Callisto V." Cairo nodded; "Sinead?" his voice was horse, barley above a whisper. The other man smiled, "She's fine, so is the baby. She banged her had badly, lost a bit of blood, that's what made her sound so weak over the radio. She's a few rooms along; the nurses will bring her to see you later."

Cairo nodded, relieved, "Jaguars?" The stranger scratched his head, "That's still a bit hazy: Star Captain Montague, Showers' second in command, surrendered the remaining members of his Trinary after you killed the Star Colonel. They're claiming the right to be taken as your bondsmen. We're holding them at the stockade until things calm down a little. As for the original raiders, we don't have a clue. The storm, mixed with the damage done to the command center, has knocked out long-range communications, so we don't know what's going on. Captain Peacemaker had what remained of your unit re-arm and set out to try and link up with the rest of Shadow Company, but we've not heard anything for the last half hour."

"Una Salus Victus…" Cairo muttered as he drifted off to sleep.

To Be Continued


	13. A question of honour or duty

Tukayyid City Hospital,

Tukayyid,

Free Rasalhague Republic.

Cairo awoke again to find McCoy looking over him, "How you doing lad?" The old tech-sergeant asked. Cairo shrugged, slowly pulling himself up into a seated position, "I've been better." He saw the look of concern on the other man's face, "Ok, what happened?" McCoy sighed, "You, we, have a visitor." Cairo blinked, "Who?"

"That would be me." A voice called from the doorway. Cairo looked round to see a face from his past: Lt. Élan Fraiser, her LADF uniform neatly pressed. She smiled tightly, "It's good to see you again Steven. It has been a while: a lot longer than it should have been." Cairo nodded, knowing what was coming next, "So command sent you to bring me back." Fraiser stepped forward, handing over a piece of paper, "You are officially ordered to return to Los Alamos on the first availably transport."

Cairo nodded, "I take it there will be charges." Fraiser handed over a second sheet of paper, "Here is the list, but they will no doubt add dereliction of duty leading to the Death of Lt. Jackson to it when we get home." Cairo scanned the list: dereliction of duty, absent without leave, misuse of LADF property (to wit 1 ON1-K _Orion_), misuse of LADF funds, failure to obey a direct order to return. The list went on and on. Cairo handed the paper to McCoy, "Look's like they are really going to throw the book at me. You must be very happy Élan."

Fraiser glared at him, "You've brought this upon yourself Steven." She brought herself to full attention, "Lt. Steven Clark, I do hear for charge you with the offences listed on the document before you, and place you under arrest until such time you can e returned to Los Alamos for trial. You have the right to select an officer to stand as you defence council. If there is any particular officer you want, please request them as soon as possible." Cairo smiled, "And what if I ask for you?" Fraiser smiled, "That would be impossible: I'm the prosecution."

"What the hell is going on?" Sinead asked from the doorway, her voice still groggy. Fraiser looked at her, "And you are?" Cairo's voice was flat and low, "She's my wife. Sinead, this is Lt. Élan Fraiser of the Los Alamos Defence Force. Élan, this is my wife, Sinead." Fraiser looked at the other woman like she was something to be scraped off the bottom of her shoe, "So you're the one mentioned in the reports, the mercenary spy." Cairo's eyes narrowed, "Back off Élan: she is a higher ranking officer than you, and you will treat her with respect."

Fraiser looked down at him, "Like I should you, Major? Don't try that bullshit with me Steven. There is a DropShip leaving for Luthien in two days: we will be on it. Your 'wife' can decide whether to stay or accompany us." Cairo looked at Sinead then McCoy, before turning back to Fraiser, "I resign. My commission, I resign it forthwith, and willingly revoke my claim to citizenship of Los Alamos. McCoy and the others can go back with you: they where following my orders, she no charges can be brought against them."

McCoy blinked, "Now you just wait a minute there lad, I'll make my own decisions." Cairo shook his head, "You have a family to go back to Shamus, I don't. Take the others home. See that granddaughter of yours. I refused a direct order to return after I killed Cain." McCoy blinked, "I never heard about that." Cairo shook his head, "You wouldn't: It was encoded so that only Paul and me could read it. I told him to take the _Wataru_ and head home, but he refused. I knew that if I told you and the others that you'd do the same. I was worried that something like this might happen, so we didn't tell you." Fraiser scowled, "Very well Steven, if that is the way you want it, it'll save us the cost of a court marshal." She turned to face McCoy, "Be on the DropShip in two days or I will shoot you as a deserter." She span on her heel and left.

Sinead sat on the edge of the bed, "I take it she doesn't like you." Cairo rubbed his head, "We went through the academy together; we where even friends. She wanted to take it further, I didn't, and she felt rejected. Ever since then she's been looking for a way to get even with me." McCoy shook his head, "She may be an officer, but she's no lady, I'll tell you that."

Cairo pulled his wife down into his arms, "How are you doing?" Sinead smiled, resting her head on his shoulder, "I've been better."

To Be Continued


	14. Over the hills and far away

@Deathzealot: the chapters are this long because that's my writing style.

ComStar barracks,

Tukayyid,

Free Rasalhague Republic

Cairo had been released from hospital, and had moved into the barracks Clearwater had arranged for the Irregulars. He looked at the computer screen before him: only 5 Mech's where still operational, from a short Battalion of 39. There was a note from the Precenter Martail flashing on the screen. Intrigued, he opened the file:

_From: Precenter Martail Victor Davion_

_To: Major Steven Cairo, CO, Solaris Irregulars_

Priority: Urgent

_Message reads:****_

_I am sorry to hear of the losses your unit suffered on Callisto V, and more recently, on Tukayyid, but I am afraid that we can not offer you unit an extended period for Rest and Refit._

The situation on Tharkad is reaching critical, and we need every available unit to try and turn back the Word of Blake forces. If we can stop them there, we will be able to rally forces elsewhere. Timing is critical, as the army headed towards New Avalon and Luthien are almost within striking distance. We need to show the people of the Inner Sphere that we can and will stop the Word of Blake advance.

"Hey you." Cairo looked round to see Sinead standing in the doorway. He smiled, "Right back at you: found a new Mech yet?" His wife nodded, taking the seat opposite his, "Yeah, they've gotten me one of those new _Mad Cat II's_ the Diamond Shark's are starting to put out. It's a lot bigger than anything I've ever piloted, but I've got time to get used to it."

Cairo shook his head, turning the computer screen round, "From what I've read so far of this message from the Precenter Martail, it look's like we're going to be sent right back into the meat grinder." Sinead scanned the message, "Steven, how much of this have you read?" Cairo blinked, "Just up to the proving we can stop Word of Blake bit. Why?" Sinead looked at him, "You might want to read the rest." Cairo turned the screen back round.

_Due to the unique nature of this conflict, it is necessary to use unusual tactics. You have proven yourself capable of thinking on your feet without the need to defer to your superiors. Due to this, and you willingness to work behind enemy lines, I have singed orders expanding the Solaris Irregulars to a full regiment in strength. Accordingly, you are to be promoted to full Colonel and are instructed to raise your unit to full strength as soon as possible._

_Singed,_

_Victor Ian Steiner-Davion_

Cairo shook his head; "They've done it to me again! Every time I think I've gotten used to my rank, the bastards promote me! What the hell am I meant to do with a Regiment?" Sinead shrugged, "Same as you always do: the bet you can. You may not be the best pilot, and we both new I'm the better shot, but you are without a doubt the better commander: you care about the people under your command. Hey, I'm Lyran: most of the command-level officers where I come from got their rank because of who their parents where. There are Colonels and Generals out there who'd think nothing of sacrificing the people under their command for personal gain, and that's weakened the military's of the Inner Sphere to the point where Word of Blake can walk right over them. You're too hard on yourself Steven." Cairo shook is head, "That not the point Sinead: I don't want the responsibility."

"But you're a natural leader lad, I knew it from the moment we first met." Clearwater said from the doorway. Cairo's eyes narrowed, "You've got a lot of nerve, showing your face around here after what you did!" The ROM agent looked at him, "You have no idea, do you? You think that this is all just another little conflict, and that everything will settle down afterwards. People are dieing Steven, dieing by the millions! You think Callisto V was bad? I've got report, information that people gave their lives to get out, that revels evidence of death camps set up on concurred planets, of entire city's being laid waist with nuclear attacks."

Cairo looked at him, "That doesn't excuse what you did: you countermanded my order, redirected the _Spirit Sight_ to attack the Jaguars LZ rather then their Mech's." Clearwater's eyes narrowed "Get with the program Steven! We are all expendable in the end: you, me, Sinead, all of us. We all accepted that risk when we joined the military: you get your money and you take your chances, same as ever. In God's name, I'd be out there in a Mech myself if I could! War is hell Steven, but right now it's the lesser of two evils: I was on Terra when Word of Blake attacked, I've faced them, I know what you're up against, and I wouldn't trust you to get the job done if I didn't think you where capable. You want out, quit!"

Cairo stood, "Where the hell else do I go? I can't go home, they want me dead. You sure as hell know that much! You think you've gotten it all worked out, don't you Simon? Now **YOU** get with the program: I'm involved with all this because I have no other choice. Word of Blake wants me dead, one way or another: I can't run, because they'll follow. I can't hide, because they'll find me. The only way I can keep my family safe is to hit them before they hit me! I'll raise a Regiment if that's what's wanted of me, and I'll lead them into the very jaws of death himself, but you **EVER** say that **ANYONE** under my command is expendable, then god as my witness, I will kill you with my bare hands. Do I make myself clear?"

Clearwater nodded, "Crystal."

To Be Continued…


	15. The business of war

@_ Jake Harris: thanks for the offer, but you do realise that this story is going to be bigger and longer than 'Ballad' and 'Irregulars' put together?_

ComStar barracks,

Tukayyid,

Free Rasalhague Republic

Cairo left most of the preparations to Clearwater, wanting to have as little to do with the complex job of organising, out fitting and manning an entire regiment as possible, and to make the ROM agent's life as complicated as possible. He looked down from the gantry as the vast stores of supplies where loaded onto the transports taking it all to the waiting DropShip's.

The shear size of the task staggered him: 125 BattleMech's, 122 Aerospace Fighters, 112 Infantry troops, 14 DropShip's, 3 JumpShip's and 6 WarShip's made up the mission to reinforce Tharkad. All he had to do was find a way to get them all past the Word of Blake blockade. His new uniform felt stiff and uncomfortable, the Colonels insignia weighed heavily on his shoulders, and his mind.

Jack Cameron walked up, his own shoulders now showing his elevated rank of Major, "They're all here sir." Cairo nodded, following the former mercenary into the small briefing room at the end of the corridor. Most, the one's who didn't know him, stood sharply to attention, earning grins from one who knew better. Cairo bad them all to sit before standing at the end of the table, looking at them: he'd once prided himself on being able to remember the names and faces of everyone under his command, but now it was a struggle to remember just the Company and Battalion commanders.

Cairo placed his hands on the table, palm flat, "First of all, I want to say that you are all idiots for taking this assignment: the Irregulars are going to be frown into the meat grinder head first, and yet everyone in this command volunteered for the job." He sat in his chair, his eyes moving from person to person, "As you are all aware, the situation on Tharkad is getting worse: Word of Blake has effectively blockaded the planet, taking both regular jump points. We will have to enter the system by a pirate point, and then get past the forces in orbit, and then land at what we hope will be the main stronghold of the forces commanded by Field Marshall Kell. Once down, we help however we can. I doubt one more regiment will make the difference, but we have to try."

He stood and started to walk down the table, stopping behind the first chair, "For those of you who don't know, this is my wife Sinead: she is also my executive officer." The next chair held the officer who had been in his hospital room when he had awoken after his fight with Star Colonel Showers, "This is Maj. Patrick Clearwater, son of our esteemed benefactor, and commander of First Battalion. His company commanders are Captains Robert Dancer, Alex Larsen, and Tai-I Élan Stark."

Cairo walked farther on, reaching the far end of the table, "You all now Jack Cameron. Well, he's got Second Battalion, with Nicolas Trent, Ian Sharp and Henry McAllister as his company commanders." He stoped next to the imposing form of Jake Kabrinski, "Our newly appointed Star Colonel here has Third Battalion, with Star Captain's Montague and Rafe." He reached the last seat, "Star-Commodore Ivan Leroux commands our Naval assets, everything from fighters to WarShips."

Tai-I Stark raised her hand, "Sir, what WarShip's will we have with us?" Cairo smiled, "Star-Commodore, if you'd be so kind." Leroux stood, "Along with my own command, the Fredasa class _Spirit Sight_ and Star Captain Jo Carns' Lola III _Nature's Wrath_, we will travelling with a relief fleet containing the Whirlwind class Destroyer _Drake_, the York class Destroyer/Carrier _Corvidae_, and the Bug-Eye class Surveillance Ship _Vigilant_, provided by Clan Snow Raven. We will also have the Kyushu Class Frigate _Draconis Rift_, newly placed under ComStar command by the Draconis Combine."

Cairo patted the Clan Naval officer on the back; "I think we can all agree that that is a whole lot of firepower. But remember this: our job is to distract and pester the Word of Blake forces, not face them in a head-on fight." The Clan officers started to protest, and Cairo was forced to call for silence, "I know, I know: it's dishonourable. I don't like it any more than you do. Try and remember this: every time a unit has tried to face Word of Blake on equal terms, they have been the victims of attack by weapons of mass destruction."

The room fell silent. Cairo looked at the suddenly still faces, "Those of you who where on Callisto V will know what I mean." He took a deep breath, "To this end, we have be assigned a number of 5-megaton nuclear devices." Every face turned to look at him, their expressions the same. Cairo nodded, "I feel the same about these weapons as the rest of you, but there may come a time when they are all that stand between our lives and destruction. I am one of only three people with the authorisation to order they deployment, and I will not do so unless there is no other choice. The DropShips launch in two hours, so if you want out, this is your last chance. Dismissed."

To Be Continued


	16. Getting there is the easy part

CNC _Spirit Sight,_

Nadia Jump point,

Alrna Alta System,

Lyran Alliance.

The blazing G-type star of the Alrna Alta system filled the main screen of the Corvettes Bridge, casting hash shadows across the busy room. Cairo gently placed his feet in the deck, the small magnets in the shoes gripping the metal deck strongly enough to keep him fro drifting off. This was their last stop before the Tharkad system, and a return to the war.

Star-Commodore Ivan Leroux sensed the other mans tension, "Relax Colonel: we have plotted the pirate point from Star League Defence Force Cartography department maps: we know exactly where we will arrive, and according to our latest intelligence reports," His arm waved across to the Black Box transmitter sitting on the com unit, "There are no hostile forces within 2 Astronomical Units. It will be easy."

Cairo nodded, "Aff Ivan Leroux, getting there is the easy part, it is what I have to do when we land that has me worried." A claxon sounded, "30-seconds to jump: all ship's report ready." There was a double flash of light as the _Draconis Rift_ entered hyperspace, followed closely by the _Nature's Wrath._ The Star-Commodore smiled, "You might want to hold onto something." Cairo groaned, remembering his regular jump sickness, "Yes: my lunch." The helmsman looked up at a LED readout, "10, 9, 8, 7, 6, system primed, 3, 2, 1, JUMP!"

The huge energy resaves that the ship's solar sail had collected over the past 5 days surged through the titanium/germanium alloy core of the Kearny/Fuchida hyper drive. The energy release ripped a hole in the very fabric of the universe, propelling the WarShip and it's DropShip cargo across nearly 30 light-years of space. No one had ever been able to fully explain what happened to the human mined in hyperspace: for some, it was a quick flash, and you where at your destination, for others, it felt like the secrets of the universe where laid out before you, and you knew everything. For Cairo, it was a mind-bending cascade of light and sound that made him sick to the stomach.

CNC _Spirit Sight_,

Pirate Point N32,

Tharkad system,

Lyran Alliance.

Reality asserted itself like a rubber band drawn out then let go, and Cairo's view of the universe snapped back to normal. His hands gripped at the nearest grab rail while his stomach flipped over a few times.

The bridge was a hive of activity, the highly trained Clan Nova Cat crew checking sensor reports and communication signals. The main hollow tank reset, the now familiar outlines of the _Draconis Rift_ and _Nature's Wrath_ appearing somewhere of the ship's port beam. The two needle-like Odyssey class JumpShip's _Ulysses_ and _Hibernia_ flashed into existence as Cairo turned to look at the main navigation screen.

The pirate point was almost 20-dgrees above the elliptical plain of the Tharkad system, approximately 7 days travel from the Lyran capital. The crew went about their business, their hands moving at amazing speed as they acted as traffic control for the arriving squadron.

"Action stations! Unidentified Aerospace contacts: 200-km off the starboard quarter. IFF reads as hostile. Designate Tango's 16 & 17." The warning came from a tech sitting in a chair marked AIR-BOSS. Star-Commodore Ivan Leroux pushed off the bulkhead he was standing next to and floated across the room, "Sound General quarters! Com: block all frequency apart from fleet wide. Helm: bring us around to face them. Air-Boss: launch interceptors and have the _Talon_ brake away and do the same." He came to a stop next to the holo-tank and grabbed a microphone, "Com, give me the _Draconis Rift_ and _Nature's Wrath_."

There was a reverberating thud as the Carrier class DropShip _Talon_ disengaged its docking clamp and broke free. Its drive flair filled the screen as it started off in pursuit of the fleeing fighters; it's own complement of Clan-made OmniFighters rocketing out of its launch door.

Cairo watched the holo-tank display as the battle progressed: the yellow dagger shaped symbols representing friendly Aerospace-fighters tracked the two red daggers representing the Word of Blake fighters. A pair of pulsating white globes detached themselves from the _Nature's Wrath_ fired a salvo of Barracuda missiles. They tracked in, passing the yellow daggers, and closing on the nearest of the red symbols.

The two missile locked onto the same fighter, following it as the pilot tried to dodge and weave, desperate to shake them. The two globes converged on the red dagger, and where replaced by a larger red glob that flashed once before dissipating. The Weapons officer looked at his screen, "Confirm kill of Tango-17. Tango-16 now out of missile range." A pair of yellow daggers closed on the remaining hostile, and the image changed, text appearing next to the outline of an Aerospace fighter.

The Air-Boss looked up, "Tango-16 identified as SHV-0 _Shiva_ OmniFighter. Configuration unknown. Tango-16 approaching edge of jamming range." Ivan Leroux's fists slammed down on the edge of the holo-tank, making the image jump, "Destroy that fighter now, or by Kerensky's name I will make you walk to Tharkad!" 

Maybe spurned on by the Star-Commodore's oath, the two yellow daggers swooped down on the _Shiva_, firing as they did so. The Word of Blake OmniFighter shudder as it was hit multiple times, most of the damage hitting the starboard wing, effectively severing it. The next two Clan fighters drove down upon their target, sealing it's fate in a hail of laser and autocannon fire.

Cairo turned to Ivan Leroux, "And you said that that was the easy part of this mission?"

To Be Continued


	17. Hot Drop

CNC _Spirit Sight_,

Inbound,

Tharkad system,

Lyran Alliance.

The small warship shuddered slightly under foot as the main drive powered it forward. Cairo leaned against the wall, his body straining against the 2-G's of acceleration as the squadron burned hard to cut it's speed for orbital incursion in two days time. The_ Draconis Rift_ and the _Vigilant_ had been left to guard the 3 JumpShip's at the pirate point, while the 4 other WarShip's escorted the 10 DropShips carrying the Irregulars to the Lyran capital.

Cairo wished he could be with his wife aboard the _Fitzpatrick_, the Union-C class DropShip carrying his command unit and two lances from Second Battalion, but he was needed on the flagship. The bridge doors opened when he placed his hand on the fingerprint scanner, and the pair of un-armoured Elementals on guard duty stood to attention as he stepped through.

The bridge was a hive of activity as the crew scanned the space sounding the small fleet of ships for anything hostile. The holo-tank at the center of the room showed a three-dimensional representation of the fleet, the DropShip's staying close to the WarShips, with Aerospace fighters darting around like minnows around a pod of whales.

Ivan Leroux motioned him over, moving so he could see a screen representing the planet of Tharkad itself, "As you can see here, Word of Blake controls the western hemisphere, and their fleet stays in geostationary orbit, while the Lyran fleet, and the ships sent by Clan Wolf-in-Exile, stay in orbit above the capital city." The screen showed the two WarShip fleets, separated by the diameter of the planet.

Cairo nodded, "What of the rest of the Alliance? Can the army's on Coventry or Arc-Royal punch through and take either jump points?" The Star-Commodore shook his head, typing a command into the keyboard next to the screen. The image changed to show a representation of the Lyran Alliance, "Neg. As you can see, Word of Blake forces have all but split encircled this system. There is still heavy fighting going-on on Donegol and Saravan, but if they win there, it will be a clear run through to Coventry, or to Arc-Royal to meet up with the division already attacking Clan Wolf-in-Exile. Things are still in the balance there: Word of Blake used tactical nuclear weapons to destroy two WarShip's in orbit."

The very mention of the use of nuclear weapons made the two me shiver involuntarily, more so because of the warheads carried on the _Nature's Wrath. _Warheads that could, in a matter of minuets, be fitted to the ships White Shark Missiles. The use of Weapons of Mass Destruction had be strictly regulated since the Ares Convention was signed in 2412, and had all but disappeared at the end of the 3rd Succession war. Although there had been limited isolated events, things where stable for the most part. That was, until now.

DropShip _Fitzpatrick_,

Assault Orbit,

Tharkad,

Lyran Alliance.

Cairo listened tentatively to the limited com-traffic being passed to him by the fibre-optic cable connecting his Mech to the DropShip's bridge. His Mech's instrument panel provided his only illumination inside the drop-pod, his own slow, deep breath his only companion.

His mind kept slipping to the occupant of the drop-pod immediately to his left: he had asked, begged and pleaded with his wife to stay on Tukayyid, but she had flat out refused. He could understand why: their daughter was on Tharkad, and it had been almost two years since either of them had seen her. She was growing up while they where making sure she had a universe to grow up in.

The DropShip shook reputably, the voice on the com-line reporting hostile fighters approaching at high speed. Cairo gripped the _Templar's_ controls as the _Fitzpatrick_ went into freefall, trying to reach a cloud back before the hostile fighters could make another pass. He felt his stomach lift, as the floor appeared to disappear beneath his seat. The sensation lasted a matter of seconds before the drive kicked back in, but it left him with the taste of bile in the back of his throat. He knew that Sinead would be worse: the motion sickness mixing with her morning sickness, making her life a living hell. Well, he had told her to stay on Tukayyid.

A claxon sounded, indicating 60-seconds to touchdown. Cairo looked at his altimeter: they where still at lest 2.5-km from the surface. The pilot must be using every last ounce of his skill to bring the ship in at such speeds. The ship tilted violently to one side, sending Cairo forward, his harness digging into his shoulders. A second shudder sent him back into his seat as the DropShip touched down on the spaceport concourse.

The drop-pod split open alone the vertical, light from the Mech bays lights flooding in. a deckhand with a pair of luminous wands directed him to step slowly forward, being careful to avoid hitting any structural supports with his AssaultMech's broad shoulders. A second wave sent his slowly towards the capping Mech bay doors and the twilight beyond.

The loading ramp rattled as the _Templar_ made it's way down to the concrete, 85-tons of metal threatening the topple at a moments notice. Cairo stopped about 50-meters from the DropShip so the rest of the Mech's could disembark, lance and company commanders trying to organise their sub-units. The other three Mech's of Cairo's command lance formed up behind him.

A dark green ARC-6S _Archer_ bearing the symbol of the 1st Royal Guards RCT walked over, followed by an identical painted CN9-D5 _Centurion_. The _Archer_ came to a stop and raised its right arm slightly, "Colonel Cairo, Hauptmann Carlyle. General Steiner sends his greetings, and asks that you accompany me to command." Cairo nodded, raising his own Mech's arm, "Then lead on."

To Be Continued…


	18. Orders

Tharkad City, Tharkad

Donegal Province

Lyran Alliance

The six Mech's came to a stop outside a huge building that Cairo's HUD identified as The Triad. He looked up at its imposing bulk, the seat of Lyran power since 2407. He knew little of the history of the Grate Houses, and cared even less. But given that his own people had declared him an outcast, and that his wife was Lyran by birth, he had decided that he needed to learn a few things if he was to fit in.

The chain link ladder tumbled down the side of his _Templar_, making a racket as it did so. This didn't draw any attention form onlookers: the sight of 4 immaculate Assault Mech's, including a brand-new _Mad Cat II_, had a tendency to capture peoples attention without any problem. Quickly pulling his coveralls over his cooling vest and shorts, Cairo climbed down to the ground.

Sinead was already waiting for him, as where René Alphonse and Vassili Dante, two of the few remaining Solaris VII recruits, had also dismounted. Cairo looked round, "Ok, René, Vassili, stay here and keep an eye on our Mech's: there are a lot of disposed Mech-jocks round here, and was just walked in with some rather nice looking kill-wear." The two MechWarriors nodded, taking up position at the foot of their Mech's, hands near but not touching their holsters.

Hauptmann Carlyle had climbed down from his _Archer_, and Cairo could see from the rings under his eyes that he hadn't slept in a long time, "Colonel, if you'd follow me please: The General is in the war-room with the Precenter Martail."

*********************************************************************

The trek through The Triad took a long time and Cairo noticed that his wife was getting more and more tense as time passed, "You ok?" Sinead shook her head, "I'm just a Mech-monkey from backwater world: I shouldn't be here. Add to that General Steiner is also from Somerset: his family where big, being cousins of the Archon and all." Cairo chuckled, "Scared of looking foolish in front of the big-wigs from your old home world? You think I'm enjoying myself?" He put his arm round her shoulders, "Relax: everything will be fine."

A squad of soldiers in Cavalier Battle Armour manned the final checkpoint, and the three MechWarrior where subjected to fingerprint and retinal scans before the heavy metal doors opened. The massive war-room beyond was a hive of activity. It reminded Cairo of the Combat Operations Center on the Spirit Sight, but on a much larger scale: hundreds of soldiers in LAAF uniforms sat at communication and sensor stations, keeping tabs on a planetary-scale battle. A huge ceiling height holo-tank filled the center of the room, casting eerie green shadows over everything.

The imposing form of Tiaret Nevversan saw them first, and bent down to whisper in the Precenter Martail's ear. Victor Davion looked even more ragged then he had back on Tukayyid 3 years before. He waved them over, moving to stand next to a man in a LAAF field uniform, the name STEINER stencilled over the left breast, "Colonel Steven Cairo, General Adam Steiner, commanding officer of the allied forces on planet." Cairo saluted instantly. General Steiner looked him over, "So you're the one who's gotten Simon Clearwater so riled? What you do to upset him?"

Cairo shrugged, "I honestly couldn't say sir: I am not exactly on speaking terms with Precentor Clearwater at this time. We had a minor disagreement before I left Tukayyid." Davion laughed, "You could say that: the Colonel threatened to kill Clearwater." Steiner whistled, "Threatening to kill the head of ROM? That must have taken some guts." Cairo's face froze, "I was unaware of his exact rank at the time, and it was more of a promise then a threat. The promise still stands."

General Steiner chuckled, then looked pasted Cairo, "Oh for gods sake Carlyle, I told you to go get some sleep: you've been up for almost 3 days straight." The Hauptmann nodded, "With respect sir, I am needed here." Steiner shook his head, "Your no good to me if your to tired to think straight. Surly you're farther taught you that?" Carlyle saluted, "Sir!" He snapped his heels, turned a sharp 180, and marched off.

Davion shook his head, "Kids gut guts, you have to give him that." Steiner nodded, "The problem is he's still living in his fathers shadow. He's trying to make his own mark, but he'll kill himself if he doesn't stop trying so damb hard." He shrugged, turning back to Cairo, "Now Colonel, we need you to deploy your regiment 150-km north of here." A few commands taped into the holo-tank chanced view to a topographic map of the area surrounding the city, "Word of Blake forces are attempting to breakthrough this pass here." An area of the map was circled in red, "Thor's Gap. It's the only way to get past the mountains for thousands of kilometres in either direction. They can't use DropShip's while our fleet is in orbit."

Cairo looked at the map, "How wide is the pass at it's widest?" Davion looked at a readout, "Just under 1km, but it's very steep." Cairo nodded, "If we deploy the irregulars on either side, angled slightly, we could catch the Blakist Bastards in a nasty crossfire. Any reports of them using nukes?" Steiner shook his head, "No, thank God. We do have our own, but the Archon refuses to order their use unless it's a last resort." He looked sadden, "I only hope it doesn't come to that. Well Colonel, you have your orders. Good luck."

To Be Continued…


	19. Battle Lines

Thor's Gap, Tharkad

Donegal Province

Lyran Alliance

The air in the mobile HQ unit was tense: for most of the march from Tharkad City, the Irregulars had seen battle-broken units streaming past them, headed for the supposed safety of the capital. The few pilots who had been willing to stop long enough to talk to Cairo told of a complete rout, unit's braking and running for the pass as the Word of Blake vanguard approached the far end of the valley.

The small hollow tank showed the worsening situation. Cairo cleared his throat, "As you can see, there is maybe a regiment of Lyran Mech's on the far side of the pass, supported by what little remains of the 278th ComsGuards Division, but they are down to less than a battalion of operational machines." The officers around the table nodded: Word of Blake sleeper agents had wrecked considerable havoc on ComStar, paying special attention to the military arm. Thousands where dead, and entire regiments decimated across the entire Inner Sphere: victims of assignations and bombings. Memories of Elisabeth Carpenter's treachery on Callisto V still fresh in everyone's mind.

Jack Cameron raised his head, "What's the battle plan?" Cairo typed a command into the holo-tank, and part of the screen expanded to show a bottleneck in the valley, "The pass narrows here from almost 1km to less than 500-meters. If we can hold that point, we can hold the valley till help arrives." Cameron looked worried, "Is that likely? I mean, these troop's we've seen heading for the city don't look ready to about-face and counter attack."

Cairo leaned back against the wall, "The only other option is to pull back to the city and face the enemy there. I don't know about the rest of you, but I've seen the results of urban combat up close and personal, I know what it doses to people's lives. If there were another option, I'd take it in half a heartbeat. It may comedown to that, but I have been ordered to hold this pass, and if I have to go out there on my own armed with nothing but my side arm, then that's what I'll do."

He looked around the room; "We have all sworn an oath to hold the line against the darkness, and to give our lives, if that is necessary to keep innocent people from being harmed. That is what will happen if the fighting reaches the city. Remember this: Word of Blake has no problems with using weapons of mass destruction on civilian targets. They have set up death camps on concurred worlds to weed-out undesirables and those who appose them." He tapped the Coms-Guard motif on his lapel; "Simply wearing this is an automatic death sentence if they capture you. Be under no illusions, this is a fight to the death: we hold this pass or we die trying."

Star Colonel Jake Kabrinski shifted uncomfortable on his feet, "Would it be possible to bring the walls of the canyon down, as was done to Clan Jade Falcon at the Grate Gash on Twycross?" Cairo shook his head, "Neg, it was the first thing I thought of: the geology of the mountains is too different. We have neither the time nor explosives needed to create a big enough blast to do anything worthwhile. The only thing we have that could to the job is one of out nukes, and I don't have the authority to deploy them on an inhabited planet."

Cairo rubbed his head, "We have about an hour to get into position. Those of us with OmniMech's will find that they have been out-fitted with a mainly energy weapons: re-supply is likely to erratic at best, so make sure of your target before you take a shot. Ok, get back to your unit's and mount-up."

*********************************************************************

The last few Mech's from the 278th Division filed pass the Irregulars position, hounded by long-rage fire from Word of Blake Light Mech's. Cairo tightened his harness. "Here they come people: heat 'um up." Mech's shifted their arms and weapons systems, going active with their sensors. Cairo could see the targeting system on a RFL-8D _Rifleman_ starting to spin, feeding its pilot accurate targeting information. Battle Armoured Clan infantry started to move along among the boulders above the ridge, getting ready to leap down, using the superior elevation to aim down on hostile Mech's.

Cairo selected an encrypted channel from the com-system, ignoring the new hands-free system the ComStar technicians had installed, "Sinead, I love you, and wouldn't trade my time with you for anything. I just wanted you to know that." He changed frequencies without waiting for a reply, "René, Vassili: I know standing orders have you as my bodyguards, but I want you to keep Sinead. I can take care of myself."

Shifting the _Templar's_ stance so it's legs where further apart, Cairo reached back into his mined and opened the door that kept his rage at bay. His eyes narrowed as all his pent-up aggression flowed through him, "**FIRE!**"

To Be Continued…


	20. Into the valley of the shadow of death

@_Sci-Fi Raptor: go back and read chapter 3._

Thor's Gap, Tharkad

Donegal Province

Lyran Alliance

The first lance of Word of Blake Mech's disappeared in a hail of Laser and PPC fire, literally vaporised by the massive amounts of energy directed at them. The second wave stopped short, suddenly unsure of what to do: a retreating enemy had suddenly turned round to face them, and four of their number had died instantly.

The hesitation cost most of them their lives: the second barrage ripped into them, tearing their Mech's limb-from-limb as they tried to pall back. They found themselves caught between the heavier machines following them into the valley, and the Irregulars, who had dug themselves into defensive positions. The arrival of the heavier Mech's turned the scouts back towards the Irregulars, and weapons fire started to travel both ways as the battle begin in earnest.

Cairo twisted his Mech's torso from side to side, his Large Pulse Laser sending out darts of energy as it swept from side to side. The heat in his cockpit was rising steadily, as his double heat sinks tried in vain to keep up with the demand he was putting on them. He fired a Gauss round at an EGL-2M _Eagle_, spinning the Mech round with the force of impact. A second round punched through its relatively thin rear armour, smashing its gyroscope and reactor. It fell to the ground, flames starting to rise from the rent in its armour.

The weapons alert siren started to go off, and Cairo saw a veritable wall of missile heading his way. He tried to duck, but his Mech was hit reputably, taking damage all across its torso. He backtracked the missiles to a 90-tone VKG-2F _Viking_ that was trying to find cover while it reloaded. Cairo locked onto it with all his weapons, and palled the trigger.

The SRM's missed wide, as did one of his ER Medium Lasers, but the rest of the _Templar's_ firepower the mark: the Large and Medium Pulse Laser blasted armour up the other Mech's right torso, coming close to damaging one of it's missile racks. The Gauss Rifle sent a basketball-sized nickel-iron round into the _Viking's_ left knee, jamming it in place. The other ER Medium Laser scorched armour across its center torso, but did no real damage.

The _Viking's_ pilot was just about to regain their balance and send a second swarm of missiles Cairo's way when a pair of Gauss-rounds it them in the left shoulder. The effect was staggering: a live missile in the launch tubes detonated, and started a chain reaction that gutted the entire left side of the Mech. the CASE panels blow-out, saving the rest of the Mech, and the pilot, from a catastrophic ammo detonation, but the force of the blow sent the Mech down onto it's right side.

Struggling to rise, the _Viking_ was easy pray: Cairo set both of his Pulse Lasers to his primary trigger and fire. The bolts of hyper-intense light ripped up the ground between the two Mech's, and ate into the thin cockpit armour. Cairo held his aim steady until a thick plum of smoke was seen to be rising from the downed machines cockpit, the plexy-glass screen long gone.

Cairo's eyes darted to his secondary monitor: a wall of red hostile dots stood out before the more sparsely spaced green friendly dots. Things did not look good.

He quickly shifted his aim to the right as a Word of Blake PLG-3Z _Pillager _appeared through a cloud of smoke, it's torso tracking round to face him. Cairo instinctively sent a flight of missiles from his SRM-4 rack towards the other Assault Mech, and ducked round behind a boulder before it could return fire.

The _Templar_ shook as a pair of magnetically accelerated slugs caught it on the large armour plate that made up the Mech's left shoulder. One sphere punched through and ricocheted off of the center torso, denting the armour. Cairo struggled to keep his Mech upright, but his excusive use of weaponry had pushed his heat sinks to the limit of their ability: the Mech's right arm crashed against the bolder with a sickening screech of metal on stone.

The _Pillager_ fired its twin Medium Lasers at Cairo, picking at his armour across his right torso, but doing real damage. The _Templar_ raised its left arm and fired its Large Pulse Laser, followed by a flight of missiles from it's SRM-4, chipping armour on the Wobblies shoulders. Cairo was forced to remind himself that he no longer had Clan Double Heat Sinks, and that the Inner Sphere variants where nowhere near as effective.

The SRM-4 launcher cycled another salvo of missiles, and Cairo hit the firings stud again, this time adding his Gauss Rifle. The Gauss round struck first, shearing a ton of armour from the _Pillagers_ center torso, and the SRM's exploited this by blasting through the remaining protection. The MechWarrior tried to pull back, but a swarm of Elementals descended upon it from their hiding places. Armour rained down onto the ground as the genetically engender infantry clawed into the Mech's innards and ripped it to peaces.

Cairo surveyed the battle: Mech's where engaged in vicious short-ranged combat, while battle armoured infantry from both sides tried to tip the balance in their favour. Cairo walked his Large Pulse Laser through a squad of Wobblies in Achileus battle armour, gutting them to shreds. Cairo fired his SRM's at a Mech he couldn't identify, and tried to take stock of what was happening.

The radio squawked with an incoming transmission from the Precenter Martail, "Highball, this is Central: what is your situation, over?" Cairo gritted his teeth, "In short Central: a shit-storm." He swung his Mech round to take a shot at a ALB-3U _Albatross_ with his Gauss Rife, "Any word on those reinforcements?"

"Negative Highball: your orders are to pull back to the plains and head for the city." Davion's voice was grim. Cairo's eyes narrowed, "Sir, if they take the pass, we'll never be able to stop them. Release Lancaster 1 and 2 to my command: if they can bring the canyon walls down a little, we may be able to stop them here." General Steiner's voice came over the link, "Negative: all orbital assets are currently engaged. Pull back to rally point Bravo."

Cairo cut the link and changed frequency, "This is Highball calling Lancaster, come in Lancaster." The radio crackled, "Highball this is Lancaster, we are reading you, over." Cairo moved his Mech back behind the bolder so he could access his tactical map, "Highball requests fire-for-effect: my position plus 1-km, over." Star Commodore Ivan Leroux sounded tense, "Negative Highball: Lancaster's 1 and 2 currently engaged and unable to offer assistance." Cairo tapped a few command, "Can Lancaster provide Fast Movers to support Highballs position?" There was a slight delay, "Confirmed Highball: fast-movers inbound your position. ETA: 90-seconds"

To Be Contiuned… 


	21. In harm’s way

_Air above Thor's Gap___

_Tharkad_

_Donegal Province_

Lyran Alliance

The OmniFighters of Alpha-Trinary (air) approached the southern end of the canyon at Mach 2, less than 50-meters above the ground. The rock cliff face seemed to speed towards them, the narrow opening of the pass a thin vertical split. The fighters broke formation, and enter the canyon one Star at a time.

In the lead fighter, the newly promoted Major Scot was still having difficulty coming to terms with his position: he respected and admired Steven Cairo, and knew him to be a man of great personal honour, but he was still a freebirth, and the Clan Warrior side of Scot could not help be feel ashamed of having been taken as bondsman.

His _Sulla_ OmniFighter founded the last bend at breakneck speed, and the battlefield sprawled out below. A TAG equipped scout Mech had highlighted a Word of Blake _Atlas_, and Scot fired-off his two Arrow-IV missiles, and watched as they hit home. The towering _Atlas_ fell, it's arms out stretched like a man who had been shot, and it landed on it's back, shaking the ground. It lay still, smoke and flame pouring from its center torso. The other fighters also launched missiles, and followed up with volleys from their own weapons, scoring a few kills, but doing little damage in the grand scream of things.

_Thor's Gap, Tharkad_

_Donegal Province_

_Lyran Alliance_

Cairo's radio bleeped again, and he opened the channel, "We come to you now live from the war zone." He quipped as he re-entered the battle. "What the hell do you think you're playing at Colonel?" The Precenter Martail sounded more than a little agitated, "You where ordered to pull back, but instead you called down an air strike!" Cairo dodged to the side to avoid an attack from the _Albatross_ he'd damaged earlier, "With all due respect sir, I do believe you've lost your nerve. Now if you don't mind, I'm kind of busy." Cairo cut the link before the other man could respond.

Cairo watched the OmniFighters climb away from the battle, a few shots chasing them, but no apparently connecting. They had delivered their payloads with the normally high level of skill and position he had come to expect from the highly trained Clan pilots. On the ground however, things where not going so well: almost two regiments of Word of Blake Mech's had pushed through to the Irregulars position.

Again Cairo fired at the _Albatross_, trading a long burst with his Large and Medium Pulse Lasers for a case of rounds from the other Mech's LB 10-X autocannon. The Mech shuddered, and the secondary monitor showed read over the left torso. Cairo lined up the crosshairs and fired his last Gauss round at the Blakist Mech, then charged forward. The _Templar's_ long-legged stride ate up the ground between the two Mech's, and the _Albatross_ soon filled Cairo's view port.

Cairo twisted his Mech's torso at the last moment, bringing the already damaged left arm round to face his opponent. The shield-shaped armour plate his the _Albatross_ dead centre, the other Mech's armoured prow cutting through the battered plate, it's shear bulk shattering the over-sized shoulder pad. The shear tenacity of the attack stunned the Blakist, and the _Albatross_ fell over backwards, the _Templar's_ broken armour falling on top.

Unstable after the loss of armour and force of impact, Cairo let his Mech fall onto his prone enemy, riding his 85-tone steed to the ground. The bone-jawing impact bruised his ribs, and almost knocked him out. The affect on the _Albatross_ was catastrophic: the relatively thick armour plating was capable of absorbing all but the most devastating weapons fire, but against 85-tons of Mech, it was useless. The _Templar's_ shoulder joint smashed the reactor housing. The automated shutdown system tried to contain the fusion engine, but failed.

Cairo saw the flames beginning the spread out from the other Mech's ruined torso, and tried to bring his own ride back to its feet. Damaged, and suffering from excess heat build-up, the _Templar_ struggled to a seated positing. Using the now useless right arm as a prop, Cairo was able to get the left leg under his Mech. He pushed down hard on the foot pedals, and the leg straightened. He quickly did the same with the right leg, and the _Templar_ rose to its feet.

The flames from the ravaged _Albatross_ had spread to cover its entire upper torso, and Cairo was forced to put his damaged Mech into a trot to get behind a low ridge before the reactor went critical. The explosion shook the ground, and a rain of flaming debris fell all around, littering the battlefield.

Cairo checked his HUD: the wire-frame display of his Mech showed only red and yellow, with no hint of green. His Gauss rifle was black, either destroyed or disabled. He shrugged: he had no ammo for it anyway. He was surprised to see that he only had one salvo of SRM's left. The only good news was that his energy weapons where still working, although some of his heat sinks where off-line. A flashing light in the corner indicated that Central was trying to contact him again. He ignored it and re-entered the battle.

Almost immediately he found himself up against a Blakist _Centurion_ that wanted to try its luck ageist his much larger Mech. he fired of his last spread of SRM's, as well as a long barrage from his Large Pulse Laser, spiking his heat levels. He was already drenched in sweat, and it stung his eyes, despite the headband he ware round his forehead to try and stop it. The _Centurion_ stumbled under his attack, and Cairo charged forward, wilding his useless right arm like a club, striking the other Mech in the side of the head. The barrel of the Gauss Rifle connected with a resounding crash, knocking the lighter Mech to the side. It fell to the ground, and Cairo stomped on it with his left foot. 85-tons of armour and weaponry crushed the other _Centurion's_ armoured cockpit instantly. Cairo looked round, seeking a new target.

A deadly BRZ-A3 _Berserker_ charged at him, it's hatchet held high as it covered his cockpit in a sheet of flame.

To Be Continued…


	22. Up close and personal

_Thor's Gap, Tharkad_

_Donegal Province_

_Lyran Alliance_

Cairo brought his arms up instinctively as the _Berserker's_ flamer spat fire right into his face. The depleted-uranium edged hatchet smashed down on his _Templar's_ left shoulder, cutting straight through the shoulder plat to the hole made by the earlier passage of the downed _Pillagers_ Gauss round, and stuck. The Blakist pilot tried to remove the weapon from where it was jammed, but it simply refused to budge.

Taking the initiative, Cairo fired his twin ER Medium Lasers into the other Mech at point blank range. The duel emerald beams stabbed out at the other Mech's center torso, but did little against the thick armour. The _Berserker's_ pilot responded in kind, firing his shoulder-mounted Large Pulse Lasers at the already badly damaged _Templar_. Cairo felt his Mech shudder as the scarlet pulses of light struck home with devastating effect.

Endo-steel melted and ran as the lasers cut through the _Templar's_ depleted layer of armour and tried to seek out the delicate innards. Screens shorted out and exploded in Cairo's face as relays overloaded. The reactor housing took damage, and a flood of excess heat welled up through the cockpits floor and hit Cairo like an ocean wave. He gasped at the scalding air, his heat sinks and cooling vest unable to keep up with the demand.

With an almighty groan that Cairo heard through his cockpits armour, the _Berserker's_ hatchet came loss, and swung up and away. Cairo tried to pull his Mech back, out of the deadly weapons range, but the heat-laden _Templar_ refused to respond to the controls. He watched, startled like a deer trapped in headlights, as the hatchet descended for a second time, aimed almost directly at his cockpit.

The war-axe smashed against the side of Cairo's cockpit, shearing off a layer of armour as it went. The _Templar's_ HUD shorted out as the targeting sensor was cleaved in two. The sound of the impact dazed Cairo, and he didn't even notice the Blakist MechWarrior raise his weapon for what would surly be the killing blow.

4 Gauss rounds hit the _Berserker_ in the back at almost the same time as the other three Mech's of the Irregulars command-lance came to their leaders aid. The assault Mech's armour may have been thick, but it was in no way capable of withstanding that sort of damage. The _Berserker's_ spine snapped, tilting the entire upper torso backwards, and gravity did the rest, the crippled Mech falling to the canyon floor.

Sinead walked her now one-armed _Med Cat II_ over to Cairo's battered _Templar_, "Steven, can you here me?" She asked urgently. Cairo shook his head, trying to focus, "I hear you luv: I got a little shook up there for a minuet. How we doing: my HUD's off-line." Sinead smiled to herself, "We're just about holding our own, but it's getting close. Any word on those reinforcements?" Cairo looked at the charred remains of his long-range radio, "No, and don't expect any soon: I think I pissed the boss off by telling him he'd lost his nerve." Sinead laughed, "You need to work on your people skills: your running out of possible friends."

The air was filled with an ear splitting roar as the Aerospace fighters made a second run, this time strafing targets with their own weapons, a few dropping laser guided or high explosive bombs. The ground shook as bombs hit. Cairo saw the way they affected the cliff faces, "Sinead my love, did I ever tell you where I got my code-name from?"

Sinead blinked, "I don't think so, why?" Cairo laughed, "Let's just say that I am finally glad my old drill sergeant made us read all those military history books when I was a cadet. I need you to relay a message to Central…"

_Air above Thor's Gap___

_Tharkad_

_Donegal Province_

Lyran Alliance 

The 6 conventional fighters from the Tharkad city militia dived down from high altitude, gaining much needed speed as they approached the canyon from the east. Screaming through the air at their maximum rate of dive, they braved the defensive fire from the Blakist Mech's below.

At less than 100-meters, they released their payloads and started pulling up. One of the lest-experienced pilots didn't make it, and his aircraft slammed into the upper cliff-face, exploding in a huge fireball.

5 seconds later, the high explosive bombs the flight had dropped hit their targets, halfway up the rock face. Nothing happened for a moment, and then huge cracks started to appear in the cliff-face, and an area almost 50-meters across and 20-meters high shifted. Cairo saw this, and immediately pulled his remaining Mech's back across to the other side of the canyon.

Thinking they had the advantage, the Blakist Mech's rushed the suddenly open gap, only to have the rock face fall on them. Thousands of tonnes of rock crashed to the ground, making the entire area shake. This in turn crated other rockslides, and the commutative effect was staggering, turning Thor's Gap from a 500-meter wide bottleneck, to a 100-meter wide hell of dust and falling rock.

Cairo instantly ordered his troops back through the opening, setting them up so that their fire zones overlapped, crating a deadly kill zone. In small groups, the Blakist tried to press the gap, but found it a living hell of dust and weapons fire.

Still they came, clambering over the smoking remains of their downed comrades, keeping the pressure on the Irregulars, never letting up for an instant. Cairo was at the point of calling in another air strike, when the air was filled with the unmistakable high pitched whine of incoming artillery fire.

The first few rounds hit the rock fall and did little damage, but the second volley straddled the Word of Blake lines perfectly. High-explosive death rained down from the clear blue sky, sending columns of dust and rock into the air, knocking over the lighter Mech's and smashing the larger ones.

Cairo remaining short-range sensors picked up a married of airborne contacts. Turning his battered Mech round, he saw a flock of VTOL's approach along the valley, missiles and gauss rifles firing as they came. Facing renew opposition, the remaining Blakist pilots pulled back, putting up a wall of defensive fire as they went.

The Battle of Thor's Gap was finally over.

To Be Continued…


	23. A reason why

Tharkad City, Tharkad  
Donegal Province  
Lyran Alliance

Cairo's head rested against the window as the transport VTOL made its way across the rain-swept city. Sinead's head was resting on his shoulder, her eyes closed as she slept. They where both still dressed in their cooling vests and shorts, but the exertion of the battle had taken its toll on them, both physical and mentally. As he dozed, Cairo's mind drifted beck to the aftermath of the Battle of Thor's Gap…

*********************************************************************

The transport VTOL had come in low, keeping below the edge of the cliffs, hugging the terrain all the way. Cairo had been busy supervising the securing of his 'Mech to the back of a prime-mover, and hadn't noticed it until it landed, the wash from the engine churning up a cloud of dust over everything.

The door had opened; a squad of troops in ComStar uniforms had jumped out, taking up position around the VTOL, their eyes scanning the surrounding terrain. Tiaret Nevversan then exited, her keen eyes scanning the battlefield. She smiled slightly, seemingly revelling with the carnage that turned Cairo's stomach. She turned back to the transport and nodded.

Precenter Martail Davion stepped out, his long coat flowing behind him as he walked to where Cairo stood, "You're a dangerous man Colonel: you don't follow orders and you have a growing contempt for authority. I have all the evidence I need to have you removed from your command, stripped of your rank, and sent for a full court martial." Cairo shrugged, "What's stopping you: I knew exactly what I was doing when I refused your order, and I fully except the consequences of my actions."

Davion shook his head, "No, you see, I can't court martial you: I sent you out here knowing that there was no way just one regiment could hold the pass against a determined attack by the Blakist's, knowing that you'd fail without reinforcements I didn't have to send."

Cairo was confused, "Then what in the hell just happened here?" He turned, his arm taking in the remains of almost 100-Mech's,  "We didn't do this on our own." Davion nodded, "Members of the city militia where monitoring the frequency I used to talk to you so that they'd know when you broke. The idea was that it would give them as much of a warning that the Blakist's where on their way as possible."

Davion folded his arms, "When you refused to retreat back to the city, the militia commander asked for permission to reinforce you. I refused, but when you called in the second air strike, he ordered his forces to advance anyway. They passed the retreating unit's that had held the other end of the canyon, and somehow managed to get them to turn and head back this way." He shook his head, "Your stubbornness rallied the troops: people why had given up hope where willing to throw themselves into battle to defend the capital of the Alliance. You're a stubborn man Colonel: one day that may get you killed."

He turned to leave, "We haven't won this battle, but we haven't lost it yet either."

*********************************************************************

The VTOL banked sharply, bringing Cairo back to reality, his superior's words ringing in his ears. He rubbed his eyebrow, the movement waking his wife from her much needed slumber. Her hands moved down to her now visibly swollen belly. Cairo smiled as he planted a kiss on her forehead, "We're almost there."

Levelling out, the transport started it's final decent into the ComStar complex surrounding the HPG facility in the center of the city, a stones throw from The Triad its self. Hovering over the landing pad, the pilot took directions from the crew chief on the ground, making minor adjustments to counter the gusting wind, until they where lined up perfectly. With a barely noticeably jolt, the VTOL touched down.

Cairo waited until the pilot gave the all clear before opening his door. He stepped down onto the tarmac, reaching back to help his wife down. Ducking down, they ran through the rain to the open set of outer doors. The doors closed automatically, shutting out the storm. Cairo and Sinead shook themselves dry, and waited for the inner doors to open before them.

A blur of movement hit Sinead in the legs almost knocking her down. Cairo steadied his wife, then looked down, "Whoa there: no need to run." He reached down and lifted his daughter into his arms, "Last time I saw you, you where having trouble walking. Now look at you!" He sighed, handing her to Sinead, "Five years old: where has the time gone?"

To Be Continued


	24. If I should fall to rise no more…

High Orbit, Tharkad  
Donegal Province  
Lyran Alliance

Star-Commodore Ivan Leroux gripped the handrail so tightly that his knuckles went white: ever since arriving in orbit, the small flotilla of ship's under his command had remained on station with the bulk of the Lyran fleet, keeping the Blakist's from gaining control of the airspace over the Capital City.

This had ended when long-range sensors had picked-up the silowetof a WarShip making its way round the horizon towards them. Rather than activate the targeting sensors, thus giving away his ship's exact position, Leroux raised the alert status to General Quarters, then ordered one of the OmniFighters under his command to investigate.

Major Scot felt his body being pushed back into his padded seat as he pulled the throttle all the way back, his _Sulla-C_ OmniFighter surging forward at a staggering 7-G's of acceleration. He had to keep the black spots from filling his vision as he rocketed forward at full speed. Angling the nose of his fighter towards the planet, Scot put her into a shallow dive.

Blazing through the outer atmosphere like a man-made meteorite, the Clan fighter picked up even more speed as its altitude fell. A shimmering corona of plasma sounded Scot's cockpit, and he switched over to his instruments: his long-range sensors where out, blinded by the electromagnetic build up created by the friction of his manoeuvre. Crossing over from the night side to the dayside, the fighter left a fiery trail thousands of kilometres in its wake.

Taking a tight grip of controls, Scot pulled back on the collective, raising the fighter's nose. The powerful engines, assisted by the gravitational effects of the slingshot manoeuvre, lifted the 45-tone craft out of its dive and back out into space, less than 1,000-km from the unknown WarShip.

Scot felt his body jolt as he ceased to accelerate; going from almost 10-G's to zero in a split-second. Rolling his fighter so that its bulk stood between him and the systems sun, Scot brought his active sensors online. His eyes went wide when the war-book programme identified the WarShip in a matter of seconds: _McKenna_ class Battleship.

The warbling of his treat detector warned him that he had been targeted, just moments before a crimson-red laser beam flashed over his cockpit. He checked his radio, only to find that he was being jammed. Flipping the omni-fighter end over, Scot posed the throttle through the thin wire 'gate' that kept the engine output within sustainable levels. Blazing with the intensity of a supernova, the fighters' drive thought to overcome its inerter, Scot's eyes fixed on the relative speed readout.

More laser bolts passed by the fighter as Blakist pilots attempted to blast the Clan-built craft to shrapnel. Agonisingly slowly, the powerful engines countered their former effort, and the fighter slowly began to make headway. A wall of LRM's slammed into the back of the nimble _Sulla_, ripping gashes in the tail assembly as Scot bushed the craft forward with everything it had. The temperature and power-output gages where berried in the red. The status display screen flashing red around the reactor as the internal structure, already weakened by the high speed dive into the planet outer atmosphere, started to bend and melt.

The threat detector began to warble loudly when the _McKenna_ fired a Barracuda anti-fighter missile from one or it's AR-10 missile ports. Scot pulled back on the stick, climbing out of the planets gravity well as maximum acceleration, but even his genetically engineered body was not able to match the resilience of the electronic seeker head attached to the deadly missile.

The explosion turned the metal casing of the missile into an expanding sphere of shrapnel that ripped into the already damaged tail of the fleeing fighter, knocking the engine out of alignment and shutting down the main power: dead in space, the _Sulla_ slowly rotated end-over-end, apparently helpless.

From the confines of his cockpit, Scot was forced to watch as the _McKenna_ drifted past his position and began to engage the defending fleet with it's array of capital-scale weapons. Missiles, Laser beams, PPC bolts and Naval Autocannon rounds flashed between the various ships, the larger Battleship easily taking everything the smaller ship's had to offer. Trapped in a lower orbit, the coalition fleet was hampered by the planets gravity well, forcing them to expend more fuel and time trying to bring their weapons to bar on the attacker.

His hands moving with speed born both of desperation and a lifetime-spent training, Scot began the process to bring his fighter back from the dead: he fed power from the life-support systems to the attitude-control thrusters, allowing him to stop the end-over spin. He looked at the weapons systems: shrapnel from the missile had cut the power connections to his wing mounted ER-PPC's. His aft-mounted ER Small Laser appeared to have been completely destroyed.

Shunting all the available power to he main engine and manoeuvring, turning his crippled fighter round to face the rear of the Blakist _McKenna_. Taking a sighting on a point between the drive and the aft super-structure, Scot slowly opened the throttle, careful not to stall the engine.

Leaking fuel and oxygen, the OmniFighter began to pick up speed as it headed back into the battle. His sudden movement caught the attention of one of the Blakist gunners, and a second Barracuda anti-fighter missile was sent his way. This one exploded directly in his path, the shrapnel smashing the Plexiglas canopy and ripping into his Kevlar flight suit.

Slowly dying, his oxygen tubes slash, Scot remember a line from a ancient book he had once read, and slowly repeated it to himself as the _McKenna_ grew larger in his narrowing field of vision: "To the last, I grapple with thee; from hell's heart, I stab at thee; for hate's sake, I spit my last breath at thee!" He finally blacked out seconds before impact.

The impact, and the explosion that followed where not that spectacular, and did little real damage. What it did do was short out the main targeting computer, forcing the crew to go over to manual. Suddenly unable to bring their ship's staggering firepower to bare effectively, the _McKenna _was forced to retreat back to the far side of the planet.

To Be Continued…


	25. The night is always darkest…

_CNC _Spirit Sight_,_

_High Orbit, Tharkad,  
Donegal Province,  
Lyran Alliance_

"I understand you perfectly Precenter Martail, but I am unable to follow your orders." Star-Commodore Ivan Leroux looked at the screen before him, knowing full well that he was getting out of his depth with every word, "I have my orders from my superiors, and any changes must follow the correct chain of command."

The Triad, Tharkad,  
Donegal Province,  
Lyran Alliance

Davion cursed under his breath as he cut the link, "This dammed insubordination of yours is contagious Colonel: now you have other people risking their careers, maybe even their lives, on what ever game you are playing."

Cairo shrugged, "I was under the impression that my ability to think on my feet without the need to defer to my superiors was one of the main reasons I was given this command in the first place. If you don't like my stile of command, you can relive me." He rested his hands on the table, "Only you can't, can you. I looked up the paper work conserving the formation of the Irregulars, and I found something very interesting: we may ware ComsGuards uniforms, but we report to, and are operated on behalf of, ROM."

Davion shot him a glance, "That is no excuse for your countermanding my orders: I command ALL ComStar forces, personal and stations in this system, including the WarShip's in orbit." He saw Cairo was about to say something, but raised his hand to stop him, "And before you say anything, remember that I am still technically Commanding General of the Star League Defence Force, so I can issue orders to the Spirit Sight if I see fit. Your plan is risky and could jeopardise our entire fleet. There is no way I will allow a ship under my command to undertake such a cores of action."

Cairo slammed his fist down onto the table, "Not every ship here is under your command!" With that, he stalked off."

Davion nodded to himself, "I was hoping you'd remember that Colonel."

_WarShip _Natures Wrath_,_

High Orbit, Tharkad,  
Donegal Province,  
Lyran Alliance

Cairo pulled himself through the hatch into the Destroyer bridge, "Your crew are ready, Quiaff Star Captain?"

Star Captain Jo Carns came sharply to attention, "Aff Colonel, my crew stand by to perform any orders you give them. If I may be so bold to ask: what are your orders?"

Cairo braced himself against the main holo-tank, "We need to destroy or disable the Word of Blake McKenna that attacked the fleet last week. I submitted a plan to the Precenter Martail, but he deemed it to 'risky' for any ship under his command. This ship is not under his command." He reached into his pocked and pulled out a penknife, "If you would come over here Star Captain."

Without a word, Carns pushed away from her command station and came to a perfect stop before Cairo. He carefully took her wrist, and with a quick flick of the blade, cut the bondcord. Cairo looked the former Clan Wolf warrior in the eye, "I will not order you to under take this mission: as formidable as this ship is, you will be going up against a ship with more than three times your mass and firepower. Your only advantages will be speed and manoeuvrability."

Carns' eyes burned with fire, "We will fight, and we will win. It will be a glorious battle, one worthy of remembrance. We may no longer be Clan by name, but we are Clan in our hearts, and in our minds."

Cairo nodded, pulling a CD-ROM from his other pocket, "This contains all the tactical information we have on the McKenna: we know that she was a Star League vessel, and that she is one of a number abandoned in the Sol system at the end of Operation: Liberation. ComStar toyed with the idea of salvaging them after the Exodus, but thy never saw the need. It is apparent that Word of Blake did."

He pulled a small metal key from a chain around his neck, and handed it over, "I am giving you permission to deploy your nuclear ordinance if you feel it is warranted. The mission is codenamed Operation: Daybreak, and the go command is 'Sunrise'. It may transpire that these preparations are unwarranted, but I do not believe we can take the risk that they are not. Good luck, Star Captain."

ComStar compound, Tharkad,  
Donegal Province,  
Lyran Alliance

"Jesus Steven: you look like shit!" Sinead said from the office doorway, "When was the last time you got any sleep? And by that, I don't mean the last time you passed out from extortion."

"No rest for the wicked, as the old saying goes." Cairo leaned back in his chair, "I have to keep a close eye on things: that McKenna made a pass over a battlefield yesterday. It levelled half a battalion of Alliance troop's before they had a chance to scatter." He rubbed his eyes wearily, "This is fast becoming a war of attrition: we can stop them from landing any more forces on planet, but they can stop us from bringing in anything larger then our little flotilla."

Sinead smiled, slowly lowering herself onto the warn leather couch, "Yeah, well I got something that might cheer you up: we got a latter today from the school that Jane's at. They are having a 'take you child to work day', and asked us if we would be participating. I told them it was unlikely."

Cairo couldn't help but laugh at that, "I don't know, high stress and near constant threat of violent death: reminds me of my school days."

The phone on the desk went off, Cairo grabbing it before it had finished its second ring, "Cairo. Ok, I'm on my way. Send to Lancaster 2: Sunrise, repeat, Sunrise."

To Be Continued…


	26. Sunrise

High Orbit, Tharkad,  
Donegal Province,  
Lyran Alliance

The entire ship shook as yet another Heavy-NPPC blast struck the already damaged armour leaving a horrible scar along the port side. The return salvo of Medium Naval lasers cut into the _McKenna's_ armour bit did no real damage.

Star Captain Jo Carns felt the five-point restraint harness holding her into her seat dig into her shoulder as her command shudder again. Her eyes where fixed on the main holo-tank, and the image of her deadly opponent.

"Helm, down 5-dagrees, rotate port: we need to bring fresh armour to bare. Weapons, hit her with everything we have left: we need to keep her occupied. Air-Boss, keep up the attack: the only weakness that ship has is limited anti-fighter weaponry."

Her orders we greeted with a chorus of responses from her well train crew.

The _McKenna_ struggled to keep up with the movements of the smaller Lola-III destroyer, while trying to fend off the wave after wave of Aerospace fighters that swarmed it defences at every turn. The rest of the Alliance fleet was keeping back, only offering fighter support to the _Natures Wrath_, ordered to stay out of the fight.

"Weapons, load forward missile bays with the atomics: we have to end this fight as soon as possible!" Carns crabbed the arms of her command chair as the ship rocked again, "We can not take much more of this." She took the metal key from around her neck and inserted it into the slot at the side of her chair. A light went from red to green.

The missile bays on the bow of the _Natures Wrath_ opened, and two White Shark anti-ship missiles rocketed out at high-speed, quickly closing the distance between the two ships.

As impressive as nuclear weapons are on a planet, they are nowhere near as effective in space.

The _McKenna_ shudder as the missile hit, then two bight flashed appeared along it port side. When the visual scanners cleared, two ugly scars could be seen on the ship's hull, but minimal structural damaged had been done.

"Hit them again! Keep hitting them: we can't afford to let them get away!" Carns' fist slammed down on her armrests as the weapons officer re-loaded the two missile launchers with their deadly cargo.

Again twin missiles stuck out across the void, and again twin bright flashes appeared on the _McKenna's_ side. The ship seemed to visibly shake as the massive amounts of heat and energy where treasured into its hull and internal structure. Heat sinks ruptured as the coolant within flash-boiled. Fighter-craft begin to target the damaged areas, taking advantage of the hols in the monsters thick hide.

"That is it! Weapons: train every available weapon on the damaged areas! Coms, signal the rest of the fleet: tell them it's now or never!" Carns leaned forward in her seat: if they succeeded in destroying the Blakist _McKenna_ here, it would be an advent remembered long after who remembered it died.

The first ship to break ranks and come to the aid of the _Natures Wrath's_ aid was the Lyran Flagship _Yggdrasil_, a huge _Mjolnir_ class battle cruiser that matched the _McKenna_ in armour and firepower. It's crew; veterans of the battle against the Clan Wolf-in-Exile Flagship _Werewolf_, another _McKenna_, during the Davion Civil War knew where to hit the Blakist craft.

Next came the other ships of the flotilla, the _Spirit Sight, Corvidae _and _Drake._ Moving in fleet formation, they came in above and behind the _Yggdrasil_, using the larger ship to mask their approach until they where in a position to strike.

The _Spirit Sight _and the_Drake_ flanked the _McKenna,_ cutting off its line of retreat, before sending their weapons fire into the rear of the larger ship, damaging its drive.

The _Corvidae_ moved to assist the damaged _Natures Wrath_ while the _Yggdrasil_ went toe-to-toe with the _McKenna_, its broadside Naval Autocannons eating into the larger ship's side. The Blakist ship tried to fight back with its banks of NPPC's, but the nukes had fired part of it's fire control systems, forcing it to fire them in relay rather than at once.

More Alliance ship's moved to assist their Flagship, sealing the _McKenna's_ fate. Her captain ordered the reactors set to overload, and tried to steer his ship closer to the _Yggdrasil_, intent on taking the larger ship with it in a suicidal ramming attack. The _McKenna_ surged forward at 1.5-G's of acceleration, hampered by its damaged drive system. This gave the _Yggdrasil_ the time it needed to move out of the way, missing the charging _McKenna_ by only a few tens of meters.

Unable to change their cores, the crew of the _McKenna_ found themselves diving into the upper atmosphere bow-first. The friction of re-entry started to burn off the remaining armour, and the structure melting and warping as the heat rose.

Finally, before the ship could desegregate, the reactor blow, a series of explosions working their way along the ship from stern to bow, shattering the once proud craft and creating an arterial meteor storm that rained down through the night sky.

To Be Continued…


	27. Arrivals and Departures

Medical Wing,

Com Star compound, Tharkad,

Donegal Province,  
Lyran Alliance

"I've never liked hospitals." Cairo leaned back against the wall, closing his eyes, "Not sure why, just never have."

"Can't understand it myself." Rob Dancer sipped at his coffee, "My mother was a doctor, and so I've been around hospitals my entire life." He bowed his head, "I know this isn't the best time Steve, but I'm leaving."

"Leaving?" Cairo looked at his friend, "What do you mean leaving?"

"The Irregulars, Tharkad, The Alliance, soon as I can." Dance looked his CO in the eye, "I've seen the reports coming in over the Black Box. This war is getting bad: the dammed Blakist's have started dropping Nukes on New Avalon, and they've struck at Luthien. The Irregulars are like family to me, but the Combine's my true home."

"Well I can't say I didn't see that coming." Cairo was shocked, "Will you be going back to your old unit?"

"If they'll have me: like you I should have returned after Solaris." Dancer shrugged, "For all I know they could kill me the moment I cross the border."

"I take it Rebecca will be going with you." Cairo was finally coming round to what he had been told, "I'll cut order's transferring you're Mech's over to your personal command: you'll need them if the reports I've read are anything to go by."

"You don't need to do that." The sound of Cairo's pager going off cut off Dancer before he could finish.

"What the hell?" Cairo looked at the LED screen, reading the message as Dancer's also started warbling, "Shit: We got incoming!" He glanced at the door across the hallway, then leapt to his feet and ran down the corridor.

************************************************

The main hanger bay was a hive of activity when the two MechWarriors pushed through the last set of door's, already pulling off their overalls to revelling the ballistic cloth of their cooling vests beneath. Cairo sprinted along the gantry till he came to the catwalk leading to his newly repaired Templar. His personal as-tech handed him his neural-helmet as he dropped down through the hatch and closed it tightly.

"All systems on-line." The Omni's computer reported, "Please input voice code authorisation to release combat-systems."

"War does not determine who is right," Answered Cairo in a clear voice, "war determine who is left."

"Combat-systems released. All systems operating inside acceptable parameters." The computer activated the HUD and com-system, "Uplink established. Do you wish to connect to a MechCommander?"

"Confirm MechCommander uplink." Cairo activated his second screen, "This is Colonel Steven Cairo of the Solaris Irregulars requesting tactical overlay."

"Confirmed Col. Please stand by." The image of a disturbingly young woman filled the side screen, "I'm Lt. Bradley, and I will be your MechCommander today."

"Christ!" Cairo swore under his breath, unable to decide if he was getting older of if they had started using cadets to fill vacant slots in the Lyran Military. "I'd like to know what the hell's going on: I got paged telling me that there was an attack going on and I needed to get to my Mech, but that's all."

"Just a moment." Bradley typed commands into her console somewhere in the Triad, "We have reports of DropShip's landing in the foothills south south-east of the city. No contact was made before they dropped below the horizon due to enemy jamming. Your unit has been selected to recon in-force the projected landing zone and determine if they are hostile."

"Brilliant." Cairo's voice dripped with sarcasm, "Download all maps and relevant information into my computer and plot a rout to the LZ that'll minimise the chance of being detected."

"Confirmed." Bradley's fingers flew across her keyboard, "Exit the hanger and head south along the main street until you reach Central Avenue then head east. I will upload further instructions at that time."

"Confirmed." Cairo changed to his command frequency, "Ok boy's and girls, we got us some party crashers in the foothills. Command ant's to know who's side they're on, and we've got the job of finding out." The reassuring thud of a pair of Elementals dropping down onto his Mech's broad shoulders momentarily interrupted Cairo, "Stay in formation till we reach the edge of the city, then brake off by Battalion. When we reach the foothills, we will brake down to individual Company's, and begin the search." Cairo gripped the throttle with one hand, "Ok people; let's earn our pay."

To Be Continued.


	28. Hide and Seek…

Foothills southeast of Tharkad-city,

Tharkad, Donegal Province,  
Lyran Alliance

"Well this **IS** fun!" Cairo lamented as he walked is Mech along another narrow valley unable to see more than 100-meters due to the winding nature of the rivers that had shaped the landscape over tens of thousands of years. The iron-rich ground made radio contact sporadic at best, and an approaching storm-system filled the satellite-communication system with static.

"Tell me again why we get these missions?" Patrick Clearwater moved his _Atlas_ up next to Cairo's _Templar_ as the first heavy drops on rain started to fall, "There are at lest a dozen units more suited to this sort of mission."

"It probably has something to do with a senior member of ComStar considering us 'expendable'." Cairo double-checked his scanner, "Ok, I just got a blip 2-cliks west."

"I got it too." Jack Cameron reported from his position on the ridge over looking the valley, "Defiantly not natural. I think we've found our DropShip. It's a big one too."

"Ok, Patrick, you take you're lance down the left flank, Jack stay on the right. I'll go right down the middle. Rix, Xander, take point." There was a flash as the two Elementals on Cairo's shoulders and landed gracefully as possible in the mud below. They soon disappeared into the lengthening shadows. The two other Mech's in Cairo's command lance took place behind his _Templar_ as they slowly made their way along the valley towards the distant DropShip.

********************************************************

"We have found the DropShip sir." Rix's voice came over the encrypted com-system, "It appears to be an _Overlord-C_ with Clan Wolf markings."

"Clan Wolf or Clan Wolf-in-Exile?" Cairo asked, getting a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"Clan Wolf sir." Rix confirmed, "They have already unloaded a full Trinary of OmniMech's."

"Ok, pull back." Cairo slowly walked his way up the ridge overlooking the LZ, leaving the sensor dead-zone it created, "This is Colonel Steven Cairo of the ComsGuards to Clan Wolf DropShip: identify yourself and state your purpose." Lightning eliminated the scene: 15 front-line OmniMech's turned to face Cairo.

The response came in the form of an ER-PPC blast from a turret on the side of the DropShip, slamming into the left arm of Cairo's _Templar_, stripping a tone of armour.

Cairo's feet slammed down on the foot-pedals, igniting his Jump Jets and sending him back down the way he had come. His Mech landed heavily, and the ground gave way, sending his Mech sliding down the side of the slope, until it finally fell facedown in the mud. A barrage of LRM's struck the crest of the slope, threatening the start a landslide.

"I think we got hostiles!" Cairo called out as he carefully brought his _Templar_ to its feet in the mud, "Patrick, Jack, pull back: there isn't a damb thing we can do against a hostile DropShip with just 11 Mech's."

Cairo activated his ECM suite just as the first Clan Wolf Mech poked its head over the crest of the hill. Cairo's crosshairs flicked between gold and red, reporting a partial lock. The Mech, a _Shadow Cat_, fired a Gauss round down at Cairo, missing his left arm by less than a meter.

"Yep, we got hostiles." Cairo gritted his teeth ad pulled his primary trigger. An azure beam of ionised energy leapt from his left-arm ER-PPC and struck the _Shadow Cat_ in the right torso, followed by as stream of depleted-uranium rounds from his Ultra Autocannon that traced a line of damage from the lighter Mech's left hip to cockpit. The last two rounds found the Plexiglas canopy and turned the cockpit into a charnel house.

"Rix, Xander: try and make your way back to communications range." Cairo started to walk his Mech back as more Mech's crested the hill, "Tell central we got a new problem…" 

To Be Continued…


	29. Blast from the past

Foothills southeast of Tharkad-city,

Tharkad, Donegal Province,  
Lyran Alliance

A huge _Warhawk_ OmniMech pointed its 4 ER-PPC's at Cairo, and unleashed quad beams of man-made lightning at the retreating _Templar_. The Fed Suns built Assault Mech was knocked onto it's back by the force of the impact, while plates of ablative armour on it's left and center torso shattered. A trio of Gauss rounds from René Alphonse and Vassili Dante shot back in response as they tried to cover their commander's attempts to rise.

Seemingly non-phased, the _Warhawk_ fired a spread of LRM's at Cairo, chipping the armour on his legs and arms as he got his Mech into a sitting position. Cairo raised his arms and fired everything he had at his tormenter, wishing he'd selected a stand-by configuration that included more weapons rather than the bulky Targeting computer.

Dispite this, the Targeting computer proved it's worth: Cairo's Ultra AC-10 chipped away at the damage done by the earlier Gauss Rifle rounds and snapped the _Warhawk's_ left arm off just below the shoulder. His ER-PPC cut an ugly scar up the other Omni's right leg, while his Streak-SRM's peppered the torso with craters.

Before the _Warhawk's_ pilot could respond, the air filled with missiles as the rest of the command company came to Cairo's aid, directing all their fire at the one target. At first it looked like the _Warhawk_ might survive the barrage, but then, with agonising slowness, it tilted back and toppled don the opposite side of the ridge. No sooner was this danger past than an entire Trinary of Mech's leapt over the hill on streams of plasma that illuminated the night as they descended like their namesake.

"As a wise man one said: 'He who fights and runs away is wasting valuable running time fighting'." Cairo put his Mech in reverse, "We better get out of here. Of curse, that's just a suggestion." He fired a volley in the general direction of the attackers, "We are out-gunned and out-numbered. Someone see if you can raise the rest of the regiment on the radio"

Slowly backing along the valley, the Command Company tried to make a fighting retreat, but Clan Wolf Elementals flanked them and started to attack from the rear.

"Steve, something doesn't feel right about this." Jack Cameron came over the link, his voice barely orderable over the fighting, "These guy's aren't fighting like the Clan's."

"I kind of noticed." Cairo sent another PPC blast towards the enemy lines, vaporising an Elemental, "I've seen the Clan's in action, and they fight like the Devil, but they normally go for one-on-one combat: they don't set a DropShip against you then send a Mech to finish you off."

"You don't think they're Clan?" Patrick Clearwater backed his _Atlas_ up so its shoulder was touching Cairo's _Templar_. 

"I think they're about as Clan as I am." Cairo struggled to keep his Mech upright as a _Gargoyle_ shattered it's left knee with a Gauss round, "But we're cut off and surrounded, with no way of telling anyone."

"But Rix and Xander…" Cameron suggested.

"They think we're up against Clan Wolf forces." Cairo fired the last of his AC-ammo at the _Gargoyle_, making the pilot think twice, "And when they report that to Central…"

"…the shit's going to hit the fan."  A new voice came over the radio, "Hello Clark, long time no see." The _Gargoyle_ stood facing Cairo's _Templar_, "How's the wife?"

Cairo's blood ran cold.

"Cain…"

To Be Continued…


	30. Dead Man Walking

_Foothills _southeast_ of Tharkad-city,_

_Tharkad, Donegal Province,_  
_Lyran Alliance_

"That's right Steve." The battlefield fell quite, "What, no found welcoming for an old friend?"

"You're dead." Cairo was hardly able to speak, "I killed you. You're dead."

"Now you know that 'ain't true." Cain chuckled, "How could I be here talking to you if I was dead? No, that wasn't me you went up against on Solaris VII: my current employers wanted a chance to get even with you, so one of their Mech-jock's took me old _Champion_ for a spin, while I kept a low profile. I was very upset when you won: I really liked that Mech."

"But what are you doing here?" Cairo was still having trouble coming to terms with what had been said.

"2 things really." Cain explained, "1: ruining any chance you have of fighting alongside the Clan's rather than against them," His Mech levelled it's arms at Cairo's Templar, "and 2: taking care of some unfinished personal business!" He punctuated the last sentence be sending a Gauss slug into Cairo's stationary Mech.

The sphere of depleted urainium-233 caught the side of the _Templar's_ cockpit, the force of the impact shattering the Plexiglas screen, showering Cairo with razor-sharp shards that cut into his skin. He flung his hands up to protect his face, releasing his grip on the controls. Without its pilot's full concentration, the _Templar_ shifted to the side, it's left leg collapsing in on its self, sending the Mech crashing into the neighbouring _Atlas_.

Patrick reacted instantly, spreading his Mech's legs further apart, stopping it from falling. He twisted his torso to get a clear shot at Cain's _Gargoyle_ with his own Gauss rifle, adding his six-shot SRM-rack into the attack.

This action made Cairo's _Templar_ fall backwards, hitting the ground with enough force to make it bounce in the soft mud, rainwater seeping into the many cracks and rents in the armour. Cairo's head snapped against the back of his command couch, baking the delicate neural helmet, and knocking the pilot out.

Cain's Mech shook as the Gauss round slammed into its left arm LRM rack, destroying the weapon, and setting off the missiles already in the tubs in a sympathetic detonation. The CASE panels exploded outwards and the chain reaction reached the magazine, setting off the un-fired LRM's. The Cellular Ammunition Storage System saved the Omni, but cost it its left arm.

"Do you require assistants Major Patrick Clearwater?" A new voice cut in over the radio, "Or can you finish these _Stravag_ on your own?"

"Any and all assistance is welcome Star Colonel Jake Kabrinski." Patrick smiled, "There are _Stravag_ enough for us all." He started his battered _Atlas_ forward, "Although they have no honour."

"Then we shall teach them the error of their ways." The Clan officer seemed to be almost enjoying himself, "Ghost Bear's, ATTACK!"****

Night turned to day as an entire star of Clan Battle-Armour rocketed over a nearby hill, followed by more than 2 Trinary's of Mech's. Running down the hillside at full speed, they slammed into the Word of Blake's exposed flank, pushing them away from the besieged command company just in time.

Suddenly out-numbered and out-classed, the raiders attempted to fallback to their DropShip, but only one made it: using his subordinates as cover, Cain managed to get his badly damaged _Gargoyle_ buck under the protection of the DropShip, and into it's Mech-bay. Trading fire with the Irregulars, the _Overlord_ boosted back into orbit, leaving the battlefield far behind.

"Sneaky bastards." Jack Cameron watched the DropShip depart from his battle-worn _Thor_, "Trying to pull a Trogon Horse on us." He looked round, "Someone better check on the boss: that Gauss round was very close."

"Already on it." Rix's voice came over the link as he scrambled up the side downed _Templar_, using his mechanical claw to grip at the broken armour. He hauled himself up onto the Mech's torso and cheerfully made his way to the head, "The cockpit screen is shattered, but the main force of the impact was taken by the shoulder armour. The Colonel is still breathing, but he is unconscious and loosing a lot of blood."

"Ok, try and get him out of there, but be careful." Cameron locked his Mech down, "Patrick, you take your Lance back and try and get a message through the Central: tell them what happened and get a couple of medi-vac chopper's out here ASAP." He unbuckled his safety harness, "Everyone else secure the perimeter and look for prisoners: I want to know what happened here…"

To Be Continued…


	31. A way of not dealing

The Green Dragoon Inn, Tharkad city,

Tharkad, Donegal Province,  
Lyran Alliance

The bar-brawl had been going on for less than 30-seconds, but it was already impossible to tell who was on whose side. It had started as an argument between members of unit's that had been on different sides during the Civil War, but it had long since pasted the point where any such distinctions could be made.

One of the original antagonists lifted a bottle of spirits, intent on smashing it over the head of an already senseless opponent. He grind and he lifted the bottle high above his head.

**CRACK!**

The bottle shattered, the echoing report of the single gunshot ending the fight quicker than any squad of military police.

All eyes turned to the man sat hunched over a small table in the back, dressed in a soiled ComGuards uniform, his head down low. The still-smoking revolver was held in one outstretched hand, while the other gripped the neck of a whisky bottle. The man lifted his head, his un-shaved face framing to eyes full of anger.

"Some people might think that with a war on you lot would let bygones be bygones." Cairo eyed the rioters one by one, the revolver never moving, "But no: you can't wait to get stuck in, you'd rather fight each other than the real enemy."

"Now there's no need for this to get out of hand…" The bartender tried to defuse the situation, but Cairo shot him a glance that would have stopped a charging _Atlas_.

"Thing's are already 'out of hand'." Cairo stood, his uniform hanging from his slim build, looking like it had been slept in, "I just don't like it when people interrupting me when I'm trying to get drunk." He tucked his revolver into his belt, and then dropped a few notes on the table, "I was getting sick of this place anyway." Gripping his half-full whisky bottle, he staggered out the door.

The cold night air hit Cairo with an almost physical force, making him cough, doubling other. He looked down the street, trying to decide where to go next. Two days had passed since he had woken in the ComStar infirmary after his encounter with Cain, and he had spent most of it drunk.

He stepped out into the middle of the road, a ground car stopping just in time to avoid running him other. The driver honked his horn, but Cairo just glanced at him before staggering to the other pavement. He finished the last of the whisky in one go, before dropping the empty bottle into the gutter.

His pager went off again, its high-pitched warble cutting into his mind like a blunt saw. He ripped the small box of electronics from his belt and smashed it against the nearest wall, shattering the plastic basing, but failing to silence it. Enraged, he drew his revolver, intent on emptying the remaining rounds into the shrieking pager.

"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!" An MP commanded, leaning out the door of a newly arrived jeep, "Put the gun down, and put your hands on the wall, nice and slowly."

"The fight's in there, arsehole." Cairo spun his arm round to indicate the bar, forgetting that his hand still held his service revolver.

The beanbag round from the MP's riot drove the air from Cairo's lungs, knocking him to the ground. He gasped for breath, letting go of his own weapon as two burly NCO's ran over to him, shock sticks at the ready. He tried to fight them off, but they jabbed him with e crowd-control weapon, knocking him out instantly.

To Be Continued…


	32. Politics of War

ComStar compound, Tharkad city,

Tharkad, Donegal Province,  
Lyran Alliance

"I'm glad to see you're looking better than you did when the MP's found you." Precenter Martail Davion looked up as Cairo enter the briefing room, "I hear they had to pump your stomach twice to get rid of all the alcohol you'd consumed."

"I never could hold my drink." Cairo sat down without even attempting to salute, "So, why have I been dragged from the stockade?"

"We have a mission that fit's your individual skills perfectly." Davion activated the holo-projector built into the table; a large glob representing Tharkad appeared in mid air, one area highlighted in green, "We may have a slight problem with one of our Generals, Lord Basil Spendlove. He got his rank through his support of my sister, but he's too well connected to simply replace or retire. He thinks he's a tactical genius, but he got his rank through political connections rather than merit." The hologram zoomed into to a topographical map of the equatorial regions, "Spendlove is in charge of the area surrounding the city of Costa Mesa. It's a low-priority zone, but they've been steadily losing ground to Word of Blake. At first we hoped it was just incompetence on Spendlove's part, but we now have reason to believe it's more than that."

"So?" Cairo shrugged, "Relive him of duty."

"I wish we could, but like I said, he's connected." Davion passed over a sheet of paper, "I'm sending the Irregulars to reinforce the Costa Mesa region: it's quite enough that you should be able to get your unit back to full strength, but I want someone down there I can trust."

"You? Trust me?" Cairo laughed, "That's rich!"

"Believe me Colonel, I wish there was someone better qualified I could send, but you're all I've got." The Precenter Martail pulled a small electronic pad from his pocket and pressed a button on the top, "That should disable the surveillance equipment for a while, before they work out it's more than just random interference."

"Nice stocking filler." Cairo examined the device, "Think Woolworth's do them?"

"I doubt it." Davion looked un-amused, "What I am about to say dose not leave this room. You divulge it to anyone and I will not hesitate to have you arrested, tried, convicted and executed for treason."

"You have my attention." Cairo sat up.

"You're a lose cannon Colonel, but right now that's what I need." Davion drew a sheet of paper from inside his jacket and passed it over, "You will destroy this before you leave the room."

"Very cloak and dagger." Cairo scanned the paper, "Operation command authority codas for the Costa Mesa region? What is this?"

"Like I said, it may be more than simple incompetence." Davion sat back in his chair, "If you should find surfactant evidence that General Spendlove is deliberately hindering the defence of his sector, you are to terminate his command and take over yourself until a replacement can be found."

"Terminate his command?" Cairo asked, his eyebrow raised

"With extreme prejudice, if necessary." Davion pulled a cigarette lighter from his pocket and set light to the page containing the operational codes, "We have no time for the lengthy trial Spendlove's arrest would generate, so if you find he is sabotaging the war effort, you have the Archon's permission to take any steps necessary to maintain the integrity of the Costa Mesa region."

"Isn't that a polite way of saying you want me to…" Cairo asked.

"Yes." Davion's gaze never faltered, "It is. If necessary." He turned of the jammer, "Good luck Colonel; you may need it."

To Be Continued…


	33. Beyond Good and Evil

_ComStar compound, Tharkad city,_

_Tharkad, Donegal Province,_

_Lyran Alliance_

The drumming sound her fingers made on the table as she waited was all that was keeping Sinade sane: the message had arrived the day before, while her husband had been meeting with Precenter Martail Davion. It was a message she had never expected to receive. The door opposite her opened, revelling an armed ComStar acolyte, followed by a tall, grey haired woman in a conservative looking dress.

"Hello Sinade," The woman's smile was hollow, her voice cool and devoid of any kindness, "It's been what? 10 years?"

"Try 15." Sinade stood, "Although the last time we met you said you never wanted to see me again. What changed?"

"Let's of things change." The woman sat on the other chair, "You where not married last time."

"So that's what this is all about: Steven." Sinade shook her head, "You know what Leona: You never cease to amaze me."

"'Leona'?" The older woman raised an eyebrow, "What happened to 'Mother'?"

"I haven't called you that for a long time." Sinade's eyes narrowed, "Not since you abandoned me on New Exford."

"You still hold a grudge over that?" Leona rested her arms on the table; "We had nothing after we fled from Somerset. I built us a life on New Exford, started to gain a bit of social standing, trying to get back what we had lost. If you had never started that story about your step-brother...

"It was no story." Sinade struggled to keep her voice calm, "Sebastian tried to rape me, and you took his side over mine, your own daughter."

"You think it was easy for me?" Leona seemed indifferent to her daughter feelings, "Everyone looking at me, wondering why my daughter was so crazy?"

"I was not crazy." Sinade's voice was on the point of cracking, "I had to leave everything I had, everyone I knew because it was inconvenient for you."

"And look what you became: a mere Sergeant." Leona looked ashamed, "You could have been an officer."

"I AM an officer." Sinade tapped the epaulets on her shoulders, "A Major, excursive officer in an Elite Regiment."

"In ComStar?" Leona shrugged, "You're Lyran, your loyalties lay here, in the Alliance."

"My loyalties are my own." Sinade tried to calm herself, "I have friends, people whom car more about my safety then their seat at the next charity ball."

"Yes, well things change." Leona looked at her daughter, "I've arranged a place for you in a Line unit with the rank of Hauptmann. It took quite a bit of doing, but the years have been good to me, especially science I moved here to the Capital. It may not be as 'grand' as working for ComStar, but at least it will get you away from that murderer..."

"**STEVEN IS NOT A MURDERER!**" Sinade slammed her fists down on the table, the sound bringing the ComStar Acolyte back into the room, pistol drawn, "As much as I hate to say it, Sebastian is not dead: he's working for Word of Blake."

"But I thought..." Leona trailed off.

"Yes, we all did." Sinade smiled, finally having the upper hand, "But that bastard tricked us again. Believe me, I wish he was dead, and if he ever comes under my guns I'll gladly kill him myself."

"I can see that there is no helping you." Leona went to stand, "There is one other thing: your children..."

"The ones I had with the 'murderer' you mean?" Sinade pulled a couple of photos from her pocked and pushed them across the table, "Jane is 5, Paul was born just a few days ago. I hope they take after their father's side of the family. Please, keep the photos: it's the closet you'll ever get to them." She turned to the Acolyte, "She's leaving, now."

The guard nodded, leading Leona from the room.

TBC


	34. Sins of the Farther

_DropShip_ Fitzpatrick, _low orbit  
Tharkad, Donegal Province,  
Lyran Alliance_  
  
"You will not believe what I found in a shop in Tharkad City!" Dancer walked carefully across the shaking deck, "In fact, I don't think you're going to like it one bit." He handed Cairo a cardboard folder filled with plastic sheets.  
  
"What's this?" Cairo opened the folder, "MechWarrior cards? I've seen these: kids get them in a foil packet with bubblegum."  
  
"I used to collect them." Patrice Clearwater looked at the cards, "In fact, I think I've still got a mint-condition 3005 Natasha Kerensky rookie card I won in a poker game on Galatea."  
  
"The regular or holographic one?" Cameron asked.  
  
"The holographic one, with her old _Marauder_ in the background." Patrice smiled, "The guy tried to bluff on Ten's over Six's; I had Queen's over Jack's."  
  
"Trade you it for a mint Bounty Hunter with _Griffin_." Cameron offered.  
  
"Not a chance!" Patrice laughed, "So, what's going to upset the boss about these?"  
  
"Look at the last page." Dancer took a seat, fastening the safety belt, "But don't say I didn't warn you."  
  
"Now I'm intrigued." Cairo flipped to the last page, "What the hell?" Looking up at him from one of the cards was his own face, a publicity shot taken from his time on Solaris VII. He looked at the next card, and saw a copy of the photo from his ComStar personnel file.  
  
"Told you you wouldn't like it." Dancer shrugged, "It's not just you: most of us have them, normally old publicity shot's from back before the Jihad, but others taken from our personnel files."  
  
"I don't believe..." Cairo looked at the card: height, weight, hair and eye colour, planet of birth, everything. He half expected it to give his real name, but it still registered him as 'Cairo, Steven'. "Where the hell did they get this information from?"  
  
"I think I know." Patrice looked at the cards, finding his own, "This has my farther written all over it." He looked at the others, "Trust me; I know how the man operates. He probably did it as a publicity stunt at the start of the Jihad, an 'exercise in morale boosting' as he'd call it."  
  
"Sounds like Simon." Sinade has kept quite until then, her head still filled with thought of her meeting with her mother the day before, "Shouldn't we get royalties from this?" She saw the way the others where looking at her, "Hey, I got two kids to put through collage, OK."  
  
"We should, and probably do: I haven't checked our bank-balance recently." Cairo shrugged, then turned to Patrice, "I take it from your tone of voice that there is no love-loss between you and you're farther?"  
  
"None." Patrice nodded, "In fact, until Tukayyid, I hadn't spoken to him in eight years. We don't have an 'easy' relationship."  
  
"Why?" Cairo asked, "I don't want to pry, but if this could interfere in the running of the Regiment, I feel I should know."  
  
"Back in 3060, my farther was head of counter-intelligence." Patrice explained, "Not a very easy or safe job, with Word of Blake still playing monkey games, and there where several attacks on his life." He's face lost its normal calm facade, "One of the attempts was a car-bomb. But, they got the wrong car: my mother and kid sister where on their way to pick me up from the mag-lev station..." His voice faded off, "I quit ComStar, took passage to Outreach, became a Mercenary. I was on a mission in the Draconis March when the Wobblies hit. Next thing I know, the unit I'm with has a new owner, and we're on our way to Tukayyid. My farther had arranged for my return home. He said he wanted to keep me safe, yet he approved my transfer to the Irregulars."  
  
"The man's a mystery, I'll give him that." Cairo looked at the cards; "I'm going to pay him back for this..."  
  
"Now here this: landing in 5-minuets, stand by for gravitational changes." A voice called out over the intercom, "All crew to duty stations."  
  
Those around the table who hadn't fasten their safety belts did so as the low rumble of the DropShip's engines grew.  
  
"What do we know about Lord Spendlove?" Cairo shouted to be heard above the din.  
  
"Well connected. Missed out on becoming a MechWarrior due to a mild form of Epilepsies: nuro-helmets don't work on him. Has a PHD in militarily history from The Nagelring." Patrice gripped the table as the DropShip passed through a bout of turbulence's, "Generally excepted as being an expert on the First and Second Succession Wars, but that's about it. Not being a front line officer, he managed to claw his way up to Leftenant General in strategic planning. Then when Katherine started playing her games, he jumped on the bandwagon and sung her praises every chance he got. This got him noticed by Nondi Steiner, who knew he was a Lyran loyalist, and promoted him to Marshal and gave him Costa Mesa as a way of keeping him happy and out of the way. He wasn't directly involved in the fighting here at the end of the Civil war, and kept his rank and position because getting rid of him was more trouble then it was worth."  
  
"So we have an armchair-General as our new CO?" Cairo sighed, "Oh well, we've all worked for worse at one point."  
  
"Yeah, you!" Cameron laughed.  
  
"30-seconds to touchdown." The captains voice interrupted Cairo before he could respond, "10, 9, 8, Full power main engines, 4, 3, 2, 1, touch down. Welcome to Costa Mesa, where the outside temperature is a balmy 38-degrees centigrade, and the humidity is, well, let's just say it's a bit damp out."  
  
"Don't you just love monsoon season?" Cameron asked as they all headed for the door.  
  
TBC


	35. Welcome to the warzone

_Costa Mesa City Spaceport,_

_Tharkad, Donegal Province,_

_Lyran Alliance_

"Ok, can someone explain to me how in the hell it can be 36-degrees, and still raining?" Cairo asked as he waited for the staff car to arrive.

"Like I said: Monsoon season." Cameron pulled his hat down so the visor covered his face, "Most people think of Tharkad as cold, but it dose have a small tropical zone." A flash of lightning filled the sky, followed by an ominous roll of thunder, "And all the storms get kind of concentrated."

"Brilliant!" Cairo muttered as the staff car approached through the torrential rain, "Remind me to fire my travel..." The complained died on his lips as the staff car exploded.

A hail of heavy gunfire exploded from the jungle at the far side of the landing field, ricocheting off the hull of the DropShip. Cairo dived to the side, knocking Sinade to the ground, covering her body with his own. The Ferro-creet exploded to their side as a mortar-round landed, followed closely by a second, nearer round. A burst of gunfire tracked across the ground and up a deck hand who'd stepped out the hatch to find out what all the noise was. His body jerked as the heavy calibre rounds ripped through him and on into the cargo-bay beyond.

"INSIDE! INSIDE! INSIDE!" Cairo yelled above the clatter of a machinegun, his own body kept between his wife and the attackers. His feet slipped on the wet metal steppes, pitching him over the side and down to the ground.

He landed hard, his shoulder protesting as he rolled to his side, trying to get behind the landing leg. A loud hum filled the air as a laser turret on the side of the Fitzpatrick tracked round and fire in the general direction of the mortar-fire. Cairo scurried across the wet Ferro-creet on his hands and knees, diving behind the thick landing strut just in time to avoid a long, tracking stream of machine-gun fire. Backing up against the titanium wall, Cairo looked towed the open landing bay door a few scant meters away. He considered making a run for it, but the chance of making it up the slippery steps before the machine-gun found him was slim to none.

The low whistle of descending plasma jet's heralded the arrival of a point of Elementals, their grey/white paint schema telling Cairo that they where from Star Colonel Jake Kabrinski's command. He ducked back behind his hiding place as the weapons fire from the jungle turned to face the new threat, rounds pinging off the Battle-Armour.

Acting as if the deadly hail of lead was nothing more than the rain, the Ghost Bear Elementals carefully took aim and fired their backpack mounted SRM's. Half the rounds exploded a few meter's from the Elementals, a mix of napalm and phosphorus commonly known as 'Willey-Pete', setting the trees on fire, and clung to the attackers as they tried to run. The other missile turned the tree line into a death trap of flying mettle and explosions.

"Clear?" An amplified voice from the lead Elemental asked.

"Arf, Point Commander, clear." An Elemental closer to the carnage reported, "Most of them are dead, but a few still live."

"Keep them alive." The Point Commander instructed, "Dead men tell no tails." He turned to face Cairo, who was surprised to see the Smoke Jaguar crest on the front of the Battle-Armour, identifying him as one of the bondsmen on Tukayyid. "All clear Sir." His claw-like hand rose up in an attempt at an Inner Sphere salute.

"My thanks, Point Commander." Cairo slowly rose to his feet, returning the salute, "Secure the prisoners and escort the prisoners to the guard-house."

A wheeled A.P.C. skidded to a halt, a squad of militia troops jumping from the back in long rain-capes, assault Rifles at the quarter-arm, unsure what to do.

"You!" Cairo pointed at the Sergeant who seemed to be commanding the troops, "Secure the perimeter: I'm requisitioning this vehicle."

"Sir?" The Sergeant looked at Cairo: his uniform was soaked and muddied from his fall and subsequent splashing about under the DropShip. His protest died un-uttered when he saw Cairo's rank insignia and the ComStar crest on his uniform.

"Steven?" Sinade hurried down the steppes from the DropShip, "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine." Cairo looked his wife over, relived to see she was also unharmed, "Anyone else hurt?"

"One crew member dead, another two wounded." Sinade looked around the landing field: the continues rain had all but put out the fires started by the inferno-rounds, and the dark clouds created a perpetual twilight that cast deep shadows, "Word of Blake?"

"I hope so." Cairo nodded, leading the way to the A.P.C. "I hope so..."

_Costa Mesa militia HQ,_

_Tharkad, Donegal Province,_

_Lyran Alliance_

Marshal Lord Basil Spendlove looked younger than Cairo had anticipated: his hair, cut short, was only just beginning to turn grey around the edges, as was the thick moustache that covered his top lip. He was dressed in his full dress-uniform, and looked unhappy with the still damp duty uniform Cairo ware. His aide, a Kommandant Alexia Grissum stood at his side, also dressed in full regalia, his chest showing a row of medals Cairo would have place good money on being unearned.

"So, the Precenter Martail sent you here did he?" Spendlove looked up from the orders Cairo had handed over upon reporting for duty, "Must be a bit of a come-down for you: front line to garrison duty in a backwater like this."

"I believe that was the intention, Sir." Cairo did his best to act presentable, but Davion's order's still came to the frond of his mind: he had been sent here to see if Spendlove was a traitor, and if he was, to kill him. "He felt that my unit needed some down time to recuperate after our last few battles." He could shot him, right here, right now, and Davion would never ask. The idea sickened him: he was no-ones assassin.

"Well, I don't think you'll be getting much rest round here." Spendlove closed the file, "The dammed Blakist's seem to know what where planning before our own troops do! Kommandant Grissum here has gone through our security time and time again, but we can't find any leaks."

"I'm not an expert in that particular field, Sir." Cairo nodded, "You'd have to ask Major Clearwater, my intelligence officer."

"Yes, quite." Spendlove pulled a sheet of paper from a pile on his desk, "I'm afraid that space is at a premium right now, so we've had to billet your unit in a shipyard just outside the base, down on the river. The construction sheds should provide ample room for you're Mech's, and you can convert the warehouses into living quarters."

"I think we passed by on the way from the Spaceport." Cairo nodded, "Sir." With a salute, he turned and left."

"What do you think of him then Alex?" Spendlove asked Grissum.

"I don't like him Sir." The Kommandant shook his head, "He's just a yokel from the Periphery. How he ever got command of a ComStar regiment is beyond me."

"I agree, but still..." Spendlove looked at Cairo's file, "Victor sent him here personally. Keep an eye on him: I don't want a Davion lap-dog messing with my command."

"As you wish, Sir." Grissum smiled, "As you wish..."

To Be Continued...


	36. Jungle Warfare

_Lakland Shipyards, Costa Mesa,  
Tharkad, Donegal Province,  
Lyran Alliance_

"Ok, who's idea was this?" Cairo asked, looking at the new hatch attached to the back of his _Templar's_ head, "It was Davion, wasn't it?"

"Yep." Cameron nodded, "He said it might keep you out of trouble."

"Out of trouble?" Cairo was getting irate, "How the hell is a duel cockpit meant to keep me out of trouble?"

"I thinks that having a dedicated communications and tactical officer along will keep you from doing anything stupid." Cameron leaned back against the gantry's safety rail, "He doesn't know you that well."

"And who's been selected for this dubious honour?" Cairo asked.

"That would be me, Sir." A voice came from behind the two MechWarrior's, "Lt. Sara Bradley reporting for duty, sir."

"What?" Cairo looked round, "I thought you where a MechCommander stationed back at The Triad?"

"I was, but I volunteered for a transfer when it was decided to assign a MechCommander to your unit full time." Bradley handed over a sheet of paper, "My orders come from General Steiner himself."

"You ever in a Mech before?" Cairo asked the young officer as he read her orders, "And I don't just mean a simulator or a parade ground: have you ever seen combat?"

"No, sir." Bradley lowered her head, "I failed my training."

"Well, it looks look's like we're stuck with each other." Cairo held out his hand, "Welcome to the Solaris Irregulars."

"Thank you sir!" Bradley shook the offered hand, her eyes lighting up, "Thank you."

_Equatorial Rainforest, Mesa region, _

_Tharkad, Donegal Province,_

_Lyran Alliance_

The continues drumming of rain falling on his cockpit was driving Cairo crazy. He wanted to let out a carefully constructed string of oaths and curses, but having a young and impressionable officer seated just behind him made that impossible. He gripped the controls tightly, his finger tapping at the control that would normally activate the centre-torso mounted weapons, but the pod-space now held the additional electronics and life-support needed to run the secondary cockpit. His eyes glanced at the weapons system display: his right-arm mounted ER-PPC was fully charged and ready, while the trio of RAC-2's in the left where loaded and locked with the safety on.

"We're approaching the RV point sir." Bradley was concentrating on her screens, trying to put the fact that she was in an 85-ton built magnet out of her mind, "The local militia's 3rd 'Mech Company should be just over the next rise."

"Still nothing on sensors?" Cairo asked, his eyes scanning the dense forest that slowed the Irregulars advance to a crawl.

"Nothing on passive sir." Bradley's finger darted across the main console, "Do you want me to go active?"

"No," Cairo shook his head, "And for the last time: when we're in here, you can call me Steven."

"I'm sorry sir, it just seems a bit strange." Bradley sounded embraced, "I read about your missions at the academy..." She stopped, "Hold on, I'm picking up several reactors, 100-meters out. Could be the 3rd."

"About time too." Cairo cut in the link that connected him to the rest of the 1st Battalion, "OK people, look's like we found the militia unit we where sent to link up with on this sweep, but let's not take any chances: 2nd company take the right, 3rd the left. 1st, follow me up the middle. Come on people, hustle: they 'ain't paying us by the hour!"

"They ain't paying us at all at the moment!" One voice answered back, followed by general laughter from the other MechWarrior's.

"Ok, ok, joke-time's over." Cairo smiled, "Just remember we got two regiments of Wobblies out here somewhere, all looking to spread the word of the blessed Blake our way, written on the end of an LRM: stay sharp." He slowly walked his Templar round a huge tree and down toward a nearby clearing.

"We're almost on top of the contacts sir, I mean Steven." Bradley sounded tense.

"Relax Sara, it's just a routine patrol, not combat." Cairo did his best to calm the young lieutenant's fears, "Militia Company, this is Highball, do you read me over?" The radio remained dead, "I say again: Militia Company, this is Highball, do you read me over?" Still the radio remained dead, just the faint hiss of static, "I don't like the look of this..." Cairo rounded the last tree and his Mech steeped into sunshine: 12 Mech's, all bearing the crest of the Costa Mesa Militia, lay strewn across the clearing, all seemingly undamaged.

"What the hell?" Cairo looked around, his eyes wide.

To Be Continued...


	37. Snake in the grass

_Equatorial Rainforest, Mesa region,_

_Tharkad, Donegal Province,_

_Lyran Alliance_

"Now that's not good..." Dancer moved his _Thunder Hawk_ forward, "In fact, that's very bad."

"Thanks for stating the obvious Rob." Cairo shook his head, "We picking up anything on external sensors that could account for this?"

"Nothing." Bradley sounded ill, "There's no sign of gas or biological agents in the air: there's nothing..."

"Suck it in Lieutenant: I need you focused." Cairo took a deep breath, "OK, Bravo and Charley company's, fan out and sweep the area: keep tight and stay sharp. I want to find out how this happened, to see it happen again. Able company: stand watch." He cut the radio, "You sure about there being no gas or anything?" 

"Yes sir." Bradley swallowed, "I've run diagnostics on all the sensors: there's nothing out there that would explain this."

"Ok, I'm going to go have a closer look." Cairo locked his Mech's legs in position, "Monitor Bravo and Charley company's: let me know if anything happens." He undid his safety harness and opened the exterior hatch built into the side of his _Templar's_ cockpit. The long metal chain ladder fell to the ground, the rattle it made disturbing the local bird life, sending them to the sky in a chorus of cries.

Making his way over to the nearest Militia Mech, a battered looking _Wolfhound_, Cairo bend down to look into it's cockpit: the pilot was dead at the controls, dried blood running from her nose and ears. 

"Anything?" Patrick Clearwater asked from halfway down his _Atlas_. 

"Nothing, but if they're all like this, they're all dead." Cairo looked around: the rest of his and Patrick's command Lance's had dismounted, "Spread out, see f you can find any survivors: I want to know what happened here." Nodding grimly, the other MechWarriors started checking the cockpits.

"WE GOT A LIVE ONE!" A voice called out across the clearing. Cairo bolted towed the voice, vaulting a fallen log. A small group had already form around the head of a FS9-O _Firestarter_ OmniMech.

"Make a hole!" Cairo cried as he pushed through the group, "Someone get the medical kit from the rescue gear."

"I got it." Sinade grabbed the green canvas bag from under the downed Mech's command couch, "Look's like electrocution."

"Electrocution?" Cairo raised an eyebrow, then grabbed the young pilots neural helmet, "The anti-theft device got set-off. Someone tampered with the security system..." He span round, grabbing the two-way radio from his belt, "Bradley, tell everyone to carefully check their anti-theft systems: they could be booby-trapped."

"Sir?" The young MechCommander was confused.

"Just do it: I don't have time to explain." Cairo cut link, and turned to get his first good look at the Militia pilot: he was young, younger even than Bradley, probably still a teenager, "How is he?"

"He'll probably live, but his chances would be better if we got him to a proper hospital." Sinade looked up, "I'm just a first-aider, not a doctor; there could be brain damage for all I know."

"Keep him stable: he's the only one who can tell us what happened here." Cairo raised his radio back his mouth, "Bradley: get onto Militia HQ and have them send a medical V.T.O.L and investigation team. 

"Copy that Sir." Bradley still sounded shaken up, "Sir, I'm picking up a weak signal on the emergency band."

"Patch it through." Cairo raised the transmitter to his ear.

"This is fire-base Delta...*CRACKLE* under attack...*CRACKLE* can't hold out much...*CRACKLE* Need help!" The broken and static laden signal cutout.

"MOUNT-UP!" Cairo sprinted for his Mech, climbing up the ladder like a scared monkey. He dived through the hatch and hit the auto-wind before closing the hatch and strapped himself in, "Charley Company: stay here and wait for the Militia medical team. Keep that kid alive. Able and Bravo company's; with me!" He started to power up the _Templar_, "Talk to me Sara."

"Fire-base Delta is a small Militia outpost about 20-clicks from here." Bradley called up the information on her screen, "Regular infantry and a few light vehicles." 

"P.B.I.'s." Cairo mutter under his breath, "Plot a coarse and send it to Able and Bravo Company's: we're going in." He started the Mech forward as fast as he could manage between the trees. 

********************************* 

It took 45-minuets to reach firebase Delta, high on the slopes of an extinct volcano. The Irregulars burst through the tree line behind a large number of Word of Blake troops in Longinus Battle Armour. Cairo brought up his Templar's right arm and trigger it's trio of Class-2 Rotary Auto-cannons. The 40mm rounds cut thought the enemy lines like a scythe, chopping them down. His ER-PPC barked, a bolt of man-made lightning vaporising one target, leaving a cloud of ionised gas in its place. The other's also fired at the Battle Armour, cutting into them with savage intent, cutting them down in swathes. Some turned to face the new threat, but the fire from the line of dug-outs and trenches that made up fire-base Delta caught them from behind.

Their attack faltering, the Blakist's started to pull back, disappearing into the forest.

TBC


	38. The old soldieries song

_Fire-base Delta, Mesa Region,  
__Tharkad, Donegal Province,  
__Lyran Alliance_

Cairo sat cross-legged in the small sandbag-lined dug-out that served as the command post of Fire-base Delta, looking across the table at Sergeant William Macduff, the gruff old carer NCO who commanded the squad charged with defending the north face of Mount Sinclair.

"I thank you for your help Colonel." Macduff looked dead tired, "We've been cut off for two days now, and those Blakist bastards where about to overrun us."

"I'm glad we could help." Cairo sipped at the instant coffee liberated from his Mech's survival rations, "Funny thing is, when I read the situation report this morning, there was no report of besieged outposts."

"You're not the first to notice that sir: Couple of times now, there have been patrols and outposts like this wiped out because no-one passed their calls for assistance onto friendlily units. If you hand't been so close, this would have been another one in a long list."

"Any idea why?"

"Someone in commaned dosn't want us to win."

"Lord Spendlove?"

"No, not him: I've served under him before, back in the 4th Succession War. He loves the Alliance, loved the Federated Commonwealth too. No, he'd die before betraying Tharkad to those godless sons-of-bitches."

"But someone close to him." Cairo thought for a minuet, "I've had to send Able and Bravo company's back to the city, but I can keep my command lance here long enough for you to pack up and get ready to pull out."

"Thank's for the offer sir, but the last unit to pull out when the situation got this bad where shot as deserters." Macduff shook his head, "No, if my boys and girls have to go out, they'll do it facing the enemy."

"It's ok: I'll take responsibility for it." Cairo smiled, "It'll teach my superiors for giving me too much leeway."

"Spoken like a true Sergeant." Macduff laughed.

"My dad was a Sergeant, in the police, not the army."

"Well, that explains that." Macduff stood, "I'd better go cheer the others up: we always get attacked at sun-up." He walked out into the main part of the outpost, and looked at the 15 or so troops under his command. Most where sat around a fire, relying on the dark mass of Rene Alphonse's Nightstar to stand watch. Macduff looked over to a young corporal who was sat plucking idly at a guitar, and just nodded. Taking a firmer grip of the instrument, the junior NCO started to play.

Macduff started to sing in his low, gravelly voice:

_"Here's forty kronnar on the drum,  
__For those who'll volunteer to come,  
__To 'list and fight the foe today,  
__Over the hills and far away."_

One by one, and then as a whole, the other soldieries joined in:

_"O'er the hills and o'er the main,  
__Through Tamar, Donegal and Skye,  
__The Archon commands and we obey,  
__Over the hills and far away._

_When duty calls me I must go,  
__to stand and face another foe,  
__But part of me will always stray,  
__Over the hills and far away._

_O'er the hills and o'er the main,  
__Through Tamar, Donegal and Skye,  
__The Archon commands and we obey,  
__Over the hills and far away.  
  
__If I should fall to rise no more,  
__As many comrades did before,  
__Then ask the pipes and drums to play,  
__Over the hills and far away._

_O'er the hills and o'er the main,  
__Through Tamar, Donegal and Skye,  
__The Archon commands and we obey,  
__Over the hills and far away.  
__  
__Then fall in lads behind the drum,  
__With Colours blazing like the sun,  
__Along the road to come-what-may,  
__Over the hills and far away._

_O'er the hills and o'er the main,  
__Through Tamar, Donegal and Skye,  
__The Archon commands and we obey,  
__Over the hills and far away..."_

The singing died down, the young troops seeming more relaxed.

**To Be Continued...**


	39. The High Road

_Fire-base Delta, Mesa Region,_

_Tharkad, Donegal Province,_

_Lyran Alliance_

The sun rose slowly over the rainforest, the mountains casting long shadows over the treetops as it went. Cairo gripped the controls of his _Templar_, doing his best to hide his frustration: they had spent most the night packing up the fire-base, Vassili Dante using his _Banshee's_ hands to lift the heavy crates onto the hover-transports. Macduff had warned that dawn always brought an attack, and his eyes scanned the tree line constantly.

"That's the last of the supplies sir." Bradley was monitoring the prose from her position in the secondary cockpit, "We can move out anytime now."

"Ok, have René take point, Vassili and Sinade staying with the transports, while we take the rear." Cairo stared punching commands into his Mech's controls, "There's a trail that leads up and round the side of the mountain..."

"Heads up!" A voice yelled over the com-line, "Battle Amour in the trees!"

"STAND TOO! STAND TOO!" Cairo yelled, "Get those transports out of here!" He flipped his targeting system to active, the infer-red system picking up the heat of the Battle Amour against the cold of the rainforest. He squeezed the trigger, a steady stream of rounds from his RAC's chewing up the undergrowth and knocking down the attackers like nine-pins.

But still they kept coming, leaping over their fallen comrades in a suicidal rush that would have overwhelmed the infantry. Cairo moved the line of fire across his field of view, a century's old tree falling as the trunk literally exploded under the onslaught. He targeted and fired his ER-PPC, a large boulder exploding and the beam of ionized particles hit it full-on.

"Ok, the transport's are away!" Bradley sounded scared, the tough exterior she put on around the other slipping, "We should start to pull..." She stopped as an alarm started to warble, "Incoming artillery fire!" Shells stared to explode all around them, smashing the flimsy barricades the militia troops had erected.

"People, we are leaving!" Cairo started the _Templar_ backwards, firing his RAC's dry, the smoking barrels still rotating until he remembered to stop before the system jammed. SRM's slammed into the side of the big Mech's broad shoulders, chipping the amour and threatening to unbalance the war machine.

"Pull back Steven, we're hold the door open for you." Sinade's voice came over the link, static filling the airways as she fired her twin Gauss Rifles at the advancing Word of Blake forces, the big _Mad Cat II_ twisting it's toro from side to side, missile launchers smoking.

"I'm on my way." Cairo span his Mech round, pushing the throttle as far forward as he dared in the muddy terrain. The _Templar_ kicked up huge clods of mud and dirt, almost slipping as it headed up the hill to the safety of a rock outcropping. A spread of inferno-SRM's flew through the air, splattering against the rock just to the side of Cairo's Mech as he dodged from side to side, using the _Templar's_ wide stance to keep it steady.

"Ok, double time: it won't take them long to re-direct that artillery fire, and we're not in a position to hit back." Cairo spurned his troops forward, rock wall to his left shaking whenever a shell or missile hit it. The track was nothing more than a ledge in the side of the mountain, a shear rock wall on one side, a steep drop to the forrest on the other. The militia transports raced ahead, eager to get away from the deadly rain of shelling, while the Mech's where forced to take it slower.

A shell landed on the edge of the road just as the Templar's right foot was coming down.

The 85-tone OmniMech stumbled forward and to the side. Cairo was unable to regain control as the Mech fell down the side of the mountain. The _Templar's_ shoulder pad snapped off when it hit the mountain side, tumbling head over hills, before ended up on it's back, skidding down the slope at brake-neck speed. Cairo brought his arms up to cover his face as the plexi-glass face-plate smashed, showing the inside of the cockpit with thousands of tiny needle-sharp fragments. An outcropping claimed the left arm, sending it spinning away into the trees. The _Templar_ span round, sliding head first towards the trees.

"_Our Father, who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy Name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven_..." Bradley was mumbling a prayer in her seat behind Cairo, but suddenly stopped after the Mech ricocheted off of some unseen obstacle, sending it crashing into the trees, where it finally came to a stop.

To Be Continued...


	40. Escape & Evade

_Rainforest, Mesa Region_

_Tharkad, Donegal Province_

_Lyran Alliance_

Cairo's head was aching, his vision blurred, party do to a concussion, and partly due to the bright sunlight that filtered down through the remains of his cockpit screen. He tried to flex his arms, but at first they refused to respond to his commands, protesting about the punishment they had taken during the fall down the mountainside. His left side felt like it was on fire, his ribs obviously broken or bruised. He tried to sit up, and then realized that his Mech was lying on its back. One hand managed to find the release to the five-point harness that had kept him in place and pulled it free. A low moaning from behind told him that Bradley had also awoken.

"Can you here me?" He asked his ribs hurting with the effort.

"Sir?" Bradley sounded groggy, "What happened?"

"We fell down the hill side." Cairo explained, "Don't try and move: I'll come to you."

This was easier said than done: the opening between the two compartments had been bent out of shape by the force of impact, and was now two small for Cairo to fit through. He lifted the seat of his command couch and pulled out the survival gear stored below.

He looked up at the shattered canopy, and started to climb.

* * *

"We have to go back and find him!" Sinade looked at the other members of the command lance: the forced march under constant artillery fire had shaken them all so badly that they had not realised that Cairo was missing until they had reached the nearest paved road.

"We can't." Vassili Dante shook his head, Rene Alphonse nodding his agreement.

"We can't just leave him there." Sinade was shocked by their apparent indifference.

"He gave us orders, back when we joined this lance: in the event of his death or incapacitation, our orders are to see to your safety." Alphonse shrugged, "Dead or alive, he'd not thank us for disobeying him by taking you back into there." He nodded towards the forest at the side of the road.

"You can't stop me from going back in there." Sinade looked mad.

"We can: we where told to use 'any and all means at our disposal, up to and including physical restraint'." Dante explained, "The Colonel was very explicit."

* * *

"You look like I feel." Cairo looked down at Bradley from the open hatch.

"Thanks sir." She managed a weak smile, "So do you."

"All too true no doubt." Cairo eased himself through the hatch and carefully made his way down so he was beside his tactical officer, "Well, let's get you fixed up and ready to move."

"Will the others come back for us?"

"I doubt it: this is a hot-zone, and I gave Vassili and Rene orders to keep Sinade safe."

"That's nice." Bradley sounded distant, sleepy, "I like her."

"You're not the only one." Cairo checked the young Lieutenant's pulse, "Feel dizzy, tired?"

"A little; it sounds like I'm listening to you from underwater."

"You've got a concussion: it'll pass, but you'll be groggy for a while..." The sound of someone trying to move through the forest silently alerted Cairo that they were no longer alone, "Stay very, very still." He whispered, drawing a Stetta auto pistol from the bag containing the survival gear and set it to fully-automatic.

The sound of quiet footsteps grew closer as Cairo silently made his way back up to the hatch, holding his gun down low to keep it from sight. He glances through the hatchway and saw a squad of soldiers in Word of Blake uniforms slowly edging towards the downed _Templar._ They where acting foolishly, staying together in a group rather than spreading out more: An armatures mistake that was going to cost them.

"You might want to cover you ears right about now." Cairo whispered, tacking the Stetta's safety catch off and raising it. He took a deep breath, then letting half of it out, pulled the trigger.

The thunderous roar 100-caseless rounds going of in quick succession was deferring inside the confined space of the cockpit, the gun jerking widely in Cairo's hand. Three of the Blakists fell instantly, one clutching at the bloody remains of his gut as he fell screaming to the ground, his body shaking violently as he died. The other two ducked for cover as the last round slammed into a tree.

Silence returned to the forest as Cairo fumbled for another magazine.

Rounds from heavy assault riffles pinged off of the _Templars_ ruined armour, ricochets threatening to turn Cairo and Bradley into Swiss-cheese. Cairo grabbed a fresh magazine from the satchel and hit the release button on the Stetta's handle, dropping the spent one to the floor before inserting the replacement.

"1…2…3…now!" Cairo jumped to his feet, the Stetta coming up, spitting death at the two remaining Blakists. One was caught in the proses of throwing a grenade, and dropped it to the ground where it exploded killing both of them instantly.

"Holy shit!" Cairo exclaimed, breathing for the first time in what felt like hours: the fire fight had lasted less than a minuet, but he felt as he had just taken part in a huge battle. He looked down at Bradley, "We'd better get the hell out of here before their friends turn up!"

_To Be Continued…_


	41. Life experiences

_Rainforest, Mesa Region_

_Tharkad, Donegal Province_

_Lyran Alliance_

"I wish we could have made a bigger fire." Bradley lamented, looking at the small pile of burning wood and the pot of water above it, "I'm cold."

"Use the survival blanket." Cairo suggested, opening a sashay of instant coffee and adding it to the water, "We can't risk the Blakists spotting us: they'll know by now that at lest one of us survived and that my _Templar_ was a command Mech."

"Still cold."

"Live with it. Anyway, haven't you been on survival training before?"

"A few years ago; when I was a cadet. But it was at the end of the Civil war, so things where all up in the air and it was cut short."

"Just great: I'm stuck in the middle of nowhere with a half-trained officer." Cairo saw the look in Bradley's eyes, "I'm sorry, it's not your fault: I miss my family."

"I've never had a family: I was orphaned when I was 3, spent my life in care."

"Can't have been fun."

"It wasn't, but I learned a lot from it."

"Like what?"

"To take what chances at happiness life gives you." She laughed, "I guess I should have."

"Huh?"

"There's someone in the unit I've got a little crush on, some I think likes me."

"Who?"

"Lieutenant Slone."

"Kerry?" Cairo thought on it for a moment, "I can see that: she's a good person."

"You don't seem that surprised that I'm…"

"Gay?" Cairo laughed, "I'd guessed: my cousin Lexei's gay, so I know the signs."

"And you don't have a problem with it?"

"We're MechWarriors: our lives can be short and violent, full of death and destruction. If we can find someone, someone we can be truly close to, to spend what little time we have with, what dose it matter if they're the same sex as us?"

"That's deep."

"I know: I get like this sometimes."

* * *

"Ok, we have a small town, with a roadblock in the middle." Cairo looked down through a pair of compact field-glasses from the hillside, "Blakists: three troopers and a pair of hover-bikes."

"So we go round?" Bradley asked, feeling uncomfortable about the sub-machinegun in her hands.

"Nope: it's too far out of our way, and we need to get back to base as fast as we can."

"What do we do?"

"Well, these nice Blakists are going to lend us a hover-bike…"

* * *

"Halt! Who goes there?" The Word of Blake sentry raised his assault rifle as the two figures approached though the twilight gloom.

"Hey pall, wan' a party?" A slurred voice came back as the two strangers, dressed in ragged clothes stepped into the light, reviling a man doing his best to support a woman, bottles of alcohol in each hand.

"Why are you out after curfew?" The sentry enquired, smelling the drink and sweat on the strangers.

"Just looking for a good time." The man smiled, his eyes unfocused, "Nice bike! Can I take it for a spin?"

"No." The sentry sighed, "Look, you'd better get home…"

"I intend to." Cairo flexes his wrist, the Stetta auto pistol shooting out into his hand. His arm came up, his finger already pulling the trigger as the gun came into line with the trooper. The burst of semi-automatic gunfire caught the sentry in the head, turning his face into a mass of blood and ripped flesh.

"Alarm!" Another of the sentry's yelled, trying to bring-round a belt-feed light machinegun set up behind a pile of sandbags. But Bradley leapt into life, bringing up her sub-machinegun, firing a burst of 9-mm rounds that traced a line of red and black craters up the man's chest.

The third and final Blakist tried to run, only to take a trio of 1-mm caseless rounds in the back, and fell to the ground, as dead as his companions.

"Was that really necessary?" Bradley asked, "He was trying to run away."

"Normally no, but I've learnt that levering a live Blakist behind is like turning your back on a Tiger: it invites attack." Cairo walked over to the nearest hover-bike and examined it, "This'll do."

"How do we start it?"

"_We_ don't do anything: _you_ keep an eye out while _I_ hotwire this thing."

"You know how to do that?"

"You have you're Life experiences, I have mine."

"I heard you're farther was a policeman?"

"So I rebelled a little as a kid." Cairo connected the last two wires, the hover-bike's engine roaring into life, "You going to walk or get on?"

To Be Continued…


	42. HunterPrey

_Los Alamos,   
The Periphery,   
Spinward of the Federated Commonwealth_

Lt. Steve Clark ran along the streets of Cairo with only his service revolver in his hand. A jet-black CHP-2N _Champion_ ran along ahead of him, firing its weapons at buildings that exploded when hit. Clark fired his revolver at the back of the 60-ton Mech as he ran, the bullets bouncing off the heavy armour.   
  
No matter how fast Clark ran, the _Champion_ simply strode on, not even noticing Clark. The Mech turned a corner, stepping over the bunt-out hulk of a _Commando_. Clark lost sight of the Mech while he ran around the fallen machine.   
  
When he turned the corner he saw the terrifying spectre of the _Champion_ towering over him. The twin turret mounted small lasers on the dark Mechs centre torso swung down to point straight at Clark. The laser barrels glowed blue as the weapons discharged…

_Rainforest, Mesa Region_

_Tharkad, Donegal Province_

_Lyran Alliance_

"Colonel, wake up!" A distance voice echoed around Cairo's head, "Colonel!"

"Huh?" He opened his eyes, "What's going on?"

"You where having some kind of nightmare." Bradley looked worried.

"It's nothing: just old memories. What time is it?"

"0542: just before dawn."

"We'd better get going." Cairo stood and walked over to the commandeered hover-bike, "We got a long way to go yet, and not a lot of time."

"You really think something's going on here?"

"You saw those poor bastards from the Militia." Cairo started the hover-bike's engine, "Someone messed with their Mechs, and they paid the price."

"So where we headed?" Bradley climbed onto the pillion seat.

"There should be a Militia base about 200-K's from here: hopefully they'll be in contact with the HQ in Costa Mesa."

They had gotten less than 100-kilomets when a Hover APC appeared out of a side road.

"Sir!" Bradley sounded scared over the roar of the two engines.

"Stay calm." Cairo reassured her, "We're on a Word of Blake bike remember."

The two craft continued side by side for a while, and then the APC started to signal for them to pull over.

"Hold on Sara: things are about to get a little bumpy!" Cairo opened the throttle as far as it would go, the front of the Hover-bike rearing up as it took off down the track, Cairo doing his best to keep it from crashing into the trees.

Twin lines of tracer fire crewed up the road behind them, almost making them skid. Cairo leaned hard to the side, taking a sharp bend at almost 100-kph, the side of the lift-skirt cutting a line through the mud. Cairo accelerated up the next hill trying to put as much distance between them and the APC.

A near blinding flash of light heralded the arrival of a pair of Savannah Master Scout craft from behind the APC, obviously called up to catch the nimble Hover-bike. Cairo checked both sides of the road: the trees where too close together to go off-road and the next turnoff wasn't for a while yet.

All of a sudden a huge _Black Knight_ heavy Mech kicked its way clear of the tree line, its right-arm mounted PPC coming up as Cairo tried in vain to stop the speeding hover bike.

To Be Continued…


	43. The enemy you know…

_Rainforest, Mesa Region_

_Tharkad, Donegal Province_

_Lyran Alliance_

"I think he's coming to Star Captain." A distance voice echoed around Cairo's head, "Can you hear me Colonel?"

"Huh?" He tried to open his eyes, but they wouldn't focus, "What's going on? What happened?"

"You sustained another concussion, as well as a bad break in your left arm." The voice continued.

"Where am I?"

"150-kilometers outside Costa Mesa."

"I see you have regained conciseness." A new voice interrupted.

"Star Captain Montague?" Cairo asked, recognising the former Smoke Jaguar officer, "What's the situation?

"Star Colonel Jake Kabrinski had us on patrol, trying to find you, when we started to get broken reports of fighting in the city. A scout Star was sent back to investigate, and they where shot at by Word of Blake forces inside the city."

"What!?!"

"All long-range communications are jammed, but we have sporadic contact with a small group of Militia hiding in the city: they report that General Spendlove has been deposed by his executive officer, Kommandant Alexia Grissum, who has instructed the civilian population not to resist the take over."

"Has anyone fought back?"

"There was sporadic fighting between Militia units and Word of Blake forces, and it appears that one of our DropShips tried to lift from the spaceport, but the invaders turned the base defences on it: they say it is still burning."

"How long have I been out? How the hell did I get here?"

"You have been out two days: the doctor thought it was best to keep you under while he re-set your arm. As for how you got here: you crashed the hover-bike into the foot of my _Black Knight_. We where planning to ambush the troop convoy that was chasing you, but we ended up rescuing you."

"What about the rest of the Irregulars?" Cairo managed to sit up, his head still spinning.

"Apart from Star Colonel Kabrinski's Trinary and a small detachment of Militia, the rest where in the city when Kommandant Grissum took over. our contacts in Costa Mesa report that the Word of Blake commandoes made the capturing of our base of operations a priority, and took them completely by surprise. We believe that they are being held in the main stockade with General Spendlove."

"I must insist that the Colonel rests." The Militia doctor stepped forward again, "I've done the best I can with what we have, but this isn't a proper hospital, or even a field hospital; the best I can do is little more than First Aid."

"I will come back later with more new." Montague nodded before leaving.

Cairo lay back down to sleep, the pain medication making him drowsy.

* * *

_The Roadhouse, Mesa Region_

_Tharkad, Donegal Province_

_Lyran Alliance___

Cairo woke early next morning, feeling thirsty and hungry, despite the intervenes drip attached to his arm. The Medic on duty confirmed that the doctor had said he was free to get up, and removed the drip from his arm and found him a clean set of civilian cloths.

"Colonel!" Bradley appeared in the doorway, "I'm glad to see you're up and about again."

"I'm fine Sara: just a little bruised and tender, but I'll live."

"I'm glad anyway: things have been getting a little tense around here…"

"How so?"

"Well, some of the Militia just want to go home, while others want to try and retake the city. Star Colonel Kabrinski's been trying to hold things together, but I don't think the Militia trust him."

"He's Clan: they don't feel happy taking orders from Clan officers."

"But he takes orders from you?"

"I was out cold: until the doc passes me as fit for duty, he's the senior officer."

"So what are we going to do?"

"We're retaking the city, and then I'm going to have a quite word with Kommandant Grissum…"

To Be Continued…


	44. Trial of Position

_The Roadhouse, Mesa Region_

_Tharkad, Donegal Province_

_Lyran Alliance___

The Roadhouse turned out to be a large two story building built to provide food and rest for the drivers of the huge mass-hullers that connected the mired of mines and plantation in the Mesa Region with the regional capital. Several of the fusion and diesel powered vehicles where outside, their trailers the size of barns, their two story cabs more like mobile homes than the workhorses that they where.

Everyone seemed to be dressed in civilian cloths, but Cairo could see sentries standing watch with their rifles slung over their backs, encrypted com-units hanging from their belts like transistor radios.

The main lounge was a hive of activity, with people either sanding around several large maps or clustered around a large field radio in one corner. Cairo grabbed a cup of scalding hot black coffee from a large urn and wondered around, listening to snippets of conversation, trying to work out who wanted to fight, and who wanted to give in.

"It is good to see you up and around Steven Cairo." The unmistakable bulk of Star Colonel Jake Kabrinski looked over one of the tables, "We where worried that you had hit your head once two often."

"Good job I have such a thick skull then." Cairo smiled at the Ghost Bears joke, "Or YOU would be tasked with retaking Costa Mesa."

"You plan to counter attack then?"

"Indeed, but how and where from I do not know: a frontal attack is out of the question, as the only way to move something as big as a OmniMech in this country is by road, and they will have all of them covered." Cairo looked at the map, "How long can your Mechs and Battle-armour operate underwater?"

"It depends: a few hours if they are prepared properly, and do not have any major holes in their armour."

"If I am reading this right then there is a river not far from here that leads down to the sea. Some of our forces could sneak along the cost and attack from the estuary…"

"That is dishonourable." A new voice protested, "An unworthy of a Clan warrior. I can see why a Freebirth would choose it." Cairo turned to see Peter, a Smoke Jaguar MechWarrior taken during the fighting on Tukayyid.

"That is enough Star Captain." Kabrinski turned to the speaker, "You will remember your place…"

"Or what Ghost Bear? Or what?" Peter looked the Elemental in the eye, "OR WHAT?"

"Perhaps you feel we should have a new commander?" Cairo asked, his voice low, "Do you have any suggestions?" The room went quiet, everyone looking at the three warriors.

"Any Trueborn, even a Ghost Bear, would be better than you!"

"Would you like a chance to prove yourself?" Cairo crossed his arm, "A chance to prove your superiority to everyone here?"

"Are you offering me a Trial of Position?"

"Yes, if you wish: you win, you take command, both here and of the Irregulars as a whole." Cairo hushed several people who started to protest, "I win, and I never have my commanded questioned EVER again."

"How do you choose to fight me?"

"Un-argumentum."

"Very well: we will settle this right now."

"Here?"

"No, outside."

"As you wish." Cairo turned and headed for the main doors.

"You are in no position to fight Steven Cairo." Kabrinski appeared at his side, "Clan law allows for you to pick a champion to fight for you."

"I thank you for your concern Jake Kabrinski, but this is something I have to do myself." Cairo pulled of the heavy check shirt he'd been given, "If someone else fights for me then they will always suspect that I was not willing to face him myself."

"You have proven your bravery and honour time and time again: Peter is a hot-head who longs for a past he can never regain."

"That's just the problem: he knows how good I am, and wants to prove he is better. The only way I can keep the Smoke Jaguars in line is to remind them how they ended up here."

"Peter is not Star Colonel Wade Showers…"

"No, and I do not have an 85-ton Mech this time." Cairo looked around the rough circle the spectators to the impending fight had formed, "I personally give myself no better than a 50% chance of winning."

"Then why fight him?"

"It is all I am good for." Cairo turned to the taller man, "If I don not make it out of this, tell Sinead…" He hesitated, "Tell her I am sorry: she deserved better."

"I will not need to: you will live through this, and you are a good man."

"Well shall see." Cairo turned to face Peter, "You ready?"

"Smoke Jaguars are always ready to fight."

"Figured as much…" Cairo sighed, "let us get this over with."

Peter lunged forward, his first blow knocking Cairo sprawling to the ground, driving the wind from his lungs. Cairo recovered enough to kick-out at the Smoke Jaguar as he charged, stopping his in his tracks with a foot in the gut. Peter clenched his fists together and swung them round with all the force he could muster.

Cairo took the sledgehammer like blow to the left ribs, and felt them brake under the onslaught. The force of the blow span him round, allowing Peter to deliver a powerful kick that caught Cairo just to the side of his spine, sending him crashing back to the ground, face down. Peter stood over him, and raised his foot to stamp on the back of Cairo's head.

The combat-boot shod foot descended at high speed, but Cairo was somehow able to twist round and grab it with both hands, twisting it so sharp he heard the bone crack as Peter span round, his other foot connecting with the side of Cairo's head.

Blood and teeth went flying as Cairo felt his head snap to the side with such force that he thought that his neck would snap. The two combatants sprawled around in the dust, each trying to gain the advantage, raining down blow after blow on the other as it descended into a street fight.

A sharp stab of pain caught Cairo in his left side, making him loosen his grip, allowing Peter to gain the upper hand. The Smoke Jaguar rolled them over so Cairo was pinned on his back, a combat knife in his hand, blood from the wound in Cairo's side dripping from the tip. He held the knife high ready to stab down and end the fight.

Cairo's right hand came up fast, his hand a flat right-angle to his arm. The base of his palm connected with Peter's nose, driving the lump of cartilage up into the other mans brain, killing him instantly.

With some difficulty, Cairo managed to topple Peter's corps and shakily stood, his swollen eyes surveying the silent crowd, "Anyone else?" He looked at them, "Huh? Anyone else want to take a shot at me?" He glared at the remaining Smoke Jaguars, "Anyone else think they are better than me?" Silence, "Good: then that is that sorted…"

To Be Continued…


	45. There but for the grace of God…

_Costa Mesa_

_Tharkad, Donegal Province_

_Lyran Alliance___

The echoing rattle of machinegun fire shattered the dark night, followed by the screams of the dieing.

"They're getting busy." Robert Dancer looked up at the narrow window near the ceiling, "You'd think that they'd grow sick of it…"

"Those _Sassenach_ bastards will get what's coming to 'um lad, just you wait." His cell mate, Captain Ian Sharp of the Second Battalion, shook his head, "There ain't no way they canna' take on the whole Inner Sphere and win."

"They appear to be giving it a good go." Dancer cocked an ear, "I can hear a chopper coming in."

"Probably just another patrol…"

* * *

The _Ferret_ Light Scout VTOL landed on the rain-swept pad near the stockade, following the directions of the crew chief on the ground. The passenger door opened, reviling four tall figures in the black body armour used by Word of Blake shock-troops, their dark-tinted visor covering their faces. The led out a shackled Sara Bradley, almost dragging her across the tarmac to the nearest guard.

"We found this one wondering in the forest." The lead shock-trooper grabbed the young lieutenant, "She claims to be militia, but her uniform is ComStar."

"Very well." The bored sounding guard seemed uninterested, "Throw her in a cell for now: we'll interrogate her later."

"Sir!" The shock-trooper saluted, and dragged the helpless tactical officer off towards the stockade.

* * *

The huge mass-huller braked at the checkpoint, the Word of Blake trooper in the drivers cab climbing down the ladder on the side, "Shipment of foodstuffs from the outlaying farms." He handed the senior guard a clipboard.

"I didn't think the indigs were willing to supply us?" The guard asked.

"They weren't." The trooper grinned, "But I don't think they'll be offering too much in the way of resistance next time."

"Have to teach them a lessen did you?"

"Let's just say those farmers' daughters can be real friendly, when their lives depend on it."

"Guess I'll have to put in for a patrol sometime." The guard laughed, signalling for the barricade to be opened, "Take it through."

The trooper climbed back into the cab and closed the door, "God I'm going to enjoy this…"

* * *

"They've got Bradley." Dancer peered out the narrow window, "No sign of the Colonel." He jumped back down to the floor, "They're coming this way: let's get ready."

"You take the left, I'll take the right." Sharpe got into position beside the door, "We'll tech the wee bastards a thing or two."

The door opened, admitting first one guard, then another. Dancer and Sharpe leapt at them, knocking them to the ground and trying to grab their weapons in the ensuring struggle.

"You guys need a hobby." Cairo remarked, looking in from the doorway, "You have WAY to much free time on your hands."

"STEVEN!" Dancer scrambled to his feet and embraced his friend, "We figured you where dead!"

"Now where have I heard that one before?" Cairo ushered the last 'guard' in and closed the door, "Where are the others?"

"Most are in this cell block, some in the Command Centre as hostages." Sharpe took an offered laser pistol, "Those that the Blakist bastard's have'na used as target practise…"

"WHAT!" Cairo's eyes went wide.

"It's true: they've executed most of the Militia." Dance nodded grimly, "They just line them up against a wall and shoot them. And some of the civilians too."

"This has to end now!" Cairo grabbed a radio from his belt, "This is Chameleon to Convoy and Turtle: bring on the pain!"

* * *

The mass-huller skidded to a stop outside the main Word of Blake barracks, pyrotechnic charges in the side exploding, dropping the sheet of metal to the ground to reveal an entire Star of Ghost Bear Elementals. As one, they fired their SRM's into the low building, demolishing it.

* * *

The waters of the Aphrodite rive parted as almost an entire Cluster of OmniMechs charged up the banks and into the city, weapons tracking the nearest hostile. Small patrol cars and infantry squads disappeared in a cloud of missile and laser fire.

* * *

"Ok, we get as many people free and armed as we can, then hit the Command Centre and take it back." Cairo clutched his assault rifle close, "From there we can gain access to the Mech bays as armoury." He looked along the corridor, "Which one's Sinade in?"

"She isn't." Dancer shook his head, "Anyone above the rank of Major was considered valuable, and so was taken as one of the hostages: they got her, Jack Cameron, Patrick Clearwater and General Spendlove."

"No mater what happens, Grissum is mine!" Cairo looked at the others , "No one touches him."

* * *

The city was a seen from Dante's Inferno: The Ghost Bear Mechs and Elementals ripped into the Blakist defenders like the Angel of Death, ripping them apart, never even thinking of prisoners.

Militia units who had gone underground after the takeover took to the streets, dispensing swift justice to any Blakist or collaborator they found.

The DropShips at the Spaceport opened up, concentrating their firepower on the fixed emplacements that had smashed the _Broken Hammer_, reducing them to rubble.

* * *

"Ok, it's 20-meters or so from here to the Command Centre." Cairo crouched down behind a low wall just outside the stockade, his rag-tag commando team carrying whatever weapons they had been able to acquire from their former jailers, "Once we start, we don't stop for anything. Got that?" The other nodded, "Ok, let's go!"

**To Be Continued…**


	46. Payback

_Costa Mesa__  
__Tharkad, Donegal Province_  
_Lyran Alliance_

The 20-meters between the stockade and the Command Centre took the commandos through the middle of a pitched battle between a number of Ghost Bear Elementals and a company of Blakist troops. The run across the street was a hellish hail of machinegun fire and laser bolts that cut down two of the Militia troopers who had accompanied Cairo in the VTOL.

The entranceway exploded inward after being hit by a RPG that shattered the doorframe, sending the reinforced steel doors inward like giant scythes, cutting down two guards before they could react. The commandoes rushed through the door, partly to get out of the killing field the street had become, and partly to get to grips with the enemy.

Cairo ran forward, his TK assault rifle spitting high-velocity death at anyone foolish enough to get it its way. The 40-mm grenade-launcher under the barrel barked, sending a phosphorus round through a security checkpoint window. The thick, burring arid smoke filled the small room, sending the troops inside choking into the corridor. The former prisoners fell on them like a pack of rabid wolves, ripping their weapons away and swiftly ending their screams with a savage version of justice.

The stairwell leading up to the second floor was heavily defended, forcing the attackers to concentrate their firepower through the small area they could see from the ground floor. Cairo quickly viewed the situation, and ran to the nearest shaft shaft, using a fire axe prise the door open before handing it to a trooper whose gun had jammed. Gripping the steel cable tightly, Cairo slung his gun over his shoulder, and started to climb.

The sound of gunfire game from the other side of the doors, and Cairo was capful to keep down below the small Plexiglas window. Bulling a combat knife from his boot, her prised the door open just enough to see out without being spotted: a sandbag-reinforced barricade hid a heavy calibre machinegun that would cut any attackers to ribbons.

Sliding the knife in so that it jammed the door open, Cairo pulled an incendiary grenade from his belt and, pulling the pin with his teeth, tossed it through the door before dropping back to the floor below. A sheet of flame irrupted through the thin opening of the elevator shaft, singing the hair of those below, but sending the machinegun crew flying over their barricade and down the stairwell where they where cut to ribbons by the angry Militia.

Any resemblance to a disciplined military unit was long gone: the Militia and Irregulars had seen their friends, family and comrades executed by the Blakist war machine, and felt no compassion for their enemy. Cairo knew the feeling well, and revelled in the carnage around him. He stalked the corridors like the personification of Death, killing anyone in his way without fear or hesitation.

* * *

Star Colonel Jake Kabrinski looked around himself: his part in the plan had been to lead the attack on the long-range communications array on the edge of the Militia compound, and call for reinforcements from elsewhere. His Elemental point had taken the hardened concrete bunker without loss, and tech's where deactivating the ECM units that had stopped them from reporting in earlier.

"I think you'd better see this sir!" One of the Militia tech's held up a pint-off: the Blakist's had loaded a maglev train with nerve gas and sent it on automatic to Tharkad city.

"Hurry." Kabrinski felt himself go pail, "We must contact the Warships in orbit immediately…"

* * *

Cairo dropped his assault rifle the moment the last round left the muzzle, drawing a pair of high-power laser-pistols from his belt, using them to gun down a Blakist guard in light combat armour. He kicked open a door to find General Spendlove sitting handcuffed to a chair.

"General." Cairo grabbed a set of keys off the downed guard and started trying them in the cuffs, "Looks like Davion was wrong about you."

"What?" Spendlove looked confused.

"He thought you where the traitor." Cairo smiled as the last key did the trick, "He sent me here to find out if that was the truth, and if it was, kill you."

"I'd never have believed he had it in him." Spendlove rubbed some feeling back into his wrist.

"It's because you supported his sister." Cairo lifted a Zeus heavy rifle from the head guard, handing the General a laser pistol.

"I have only ever tried to serve the Lyran people." Spendlove checked the charge on the weapon, "That is all I ever wanted to do."

"Well then it looks like you going to get to be a hero." Cairo pried round the doorframe, "Grissum's one floor up: I say we go pay him a visit."

* * *

"Long range communications back up sir!" The tech collapsed exhausted into a chair.

"Good." Kabrinski grabbed the nearest microphone and set the radio to a ComStar frequency, "This is Tomahawk to Lancaster, come in."

"This is Lancaster receiving you loud and clear Tomahawk." Star-Commodore Ivan Leroux's voice crackled the radio, "Why the brake in coms?"

"Condition Black: hostile took over the city and blocked all communications." Kabrinski explained, "There is a maglev train on the main line between here and _Tharkad city: it is carrying _nerve gas and must be destroyed!"

**To Be Continued…**


	47. All or Nothing

_CNC _Spirit Sight

_High orbit, Tharkad_

_Donegal Province__  
__Lyran Alliance_

"Kerenskys blood!" Star-Commodore Leroux jumped to his feet, the magnetic plates in the end of his shoes only just keeping him from floating away, "What fighters do we have in that area?"

"Echo 4-18 and Echo 4-19 are on C.A.P. 200-km outside of Tharkad City." The Air-Boss reported, "Shall I order them it intercept?"

"Aff: tell them to do what ever it takes to stop that train before it reaches the city." Leroux kicked off the deck and floated over to the navigation table, "Helm, bring us into position to fire on the maglev line."

"Confirmed Delta-Vee change." The helmswoman grabbed the yoke tightly, "60-degrees down on the bow. Full power to main engine."

"May Poseidon dam Word of Blake to the 10th level of hell!" Leroux cursed, "Move this, ship or I swear by the eternal night of space I will make you get out and push!"

_Militia HQ, Costa Mesa__  
__Tharkad, Donegal Province_  
_Lyran Alliance_

Cairo bounded along to corridor leading to the final stairwell to find an intense firefight already in progress. He ducked into a side room, narrowly missing a laser bolt. Gripping the commandeered rifle tightly, he poked it back round the corner and pulled the trigger. The high-velocity tungsten rounds slammed through a pair of heavy oak doors that had stopped lesser bullets and dropped a guard on the other side.

Spendlove had taken cover behind a large metal filling cabinet, and poking one pistol over the top and the other around the side, opened fire. The intense heat set one of the doors alights, the thick varnish going up like gasoline.

"Get your bloody heads down!" A voice yelled from behind Cairo, and he ducked back just in time to see Robert Dancer lift a RPG to his shoulder and fire it along the length of the corridor. It went thorough the battered door and exploded on contact with the wall beyond, sending burning splinters raining down on the commando team.

"Fire in the hole?" Dance shrugged, reloading.

_500-km outside __Tharkad City_

_Tharkad, Donegal Province__  
__Lyran Alliance_

_The pair of Clan __Visigoth-B__ OmniFighter's of Echo flight crossed the open farmland at hypersonic speed, sensors tracking the speeding Maglev train as it raced towards the distant city._

"This is Echo 4-18 to _Lancaster_: we have the target in sight. Commencing attack run." Star Captain Janet reported in, arming her quartet of Large Pulse Lasers, "Ok William, follow me in."

"Roger Major." Star Commander William, a Clan Nova Cat pilot, closed the gap between the two fighters, "I have your 6."

The stream of laser bolts kicked up clouds of dust as they races towards the train, before finally busting through metal skin of the transport. Smoke and flame burst out of one of the carriages, but the train didn't even slowdown. Janet pulled back, raising the nose of her fighter and bleeding of some of its speed.

Williams's attack run likewise tracked its way across the fields before finding its target. This time a laser found something flammable, making the last carriage explode violently, breaking the coupling between it and the rest of the train.

"_Lancaster_, this is Echo 4-18: we have a single carriage braking away from the rest of the train and slowing down." Janet circled round, "Tell the local Militia to cordon it off until the HASMAT team arrives."

"Roger that Echo 4-18." Leroux sounded unimpressed, "One more run, and then we will be in position."

_Militia HQ, Costa Mesa__  
__Tharkad, Donegal Province_  
_Lyran Alliance_

_Cairo took the stairs two at a time, not even noticing that only Dancer and _Spendlove where left to follow him. He set is rife it full-auto, spraying the final stretch of corridor with deadly fire, cutting down the few guards left. The gun jammed, and Cairo dropped it, pulling a 9mm from his belt as he kicked open the last door.

Grissum stood behind Spendlove's old desk, gun in hand, barrel pressed firmly against Sinade's head. Jack Cameron's body lay on the floor, blood still flowing from the hole in his left temple. Several other men and woman lay around the office, all dead.

"General, Colonel, Major; do come in." Grissum smiled, "I've waiting for you…"

**To Be Continued…**


	48. Patriot Games

_Militia HQ, Costa Mesa__  
__Tharkad, Donegal Province_  
_Lyran Alliance_

"Now slowly put your weapons down." Grissum was still smiling like a Cheshire cat.

"We put our guns down and you'll kill us and her." Cairo's eyes narrowed, "You can't get out of here alive."

"Well then, what do I have to lose by redecorating this office with your wife's brains?" The traitorous Lyran officer asked.

"Let her go and there's a chance I may just kill you." Cairo's eyes where as hard a stone, "Hurt her, and the doctors will have to write new textbooks to describe what I'll do to you."

"You don't seem to understand the situation: you put your guns down, or I kill her."

_450-km outside __Tharkad City  
__Tharkad, Donegal Province__  
__Lyran Alliance_

"Ok, we will have to hit this head on." Star Captain Janet pulled her fighter round in a tight curve, centring it up on the raised Maglev track, "We go in low and fast, hitting it with everything we have."

"I am right behind you." Star Commander William set his HUD to target the train, not the other fighter, "We are in the pipe, 5-by-5."

The train grew quickly in Janet's sights, and she opened up at maximum range, her lasers chewing the stylised engine housing to scrap, melting the outer casing but doing little real damage to the locomotive. Just nudging the controls slightly, she pulled up, the G-forces pinning her into her seat.

William opened fire the instant the other craft was clear, his own weapons taking advantage of the holes already opened up in the once streamlined train. So intent was he that he forgot to pull up until the last second.

The tip of his left wing caught the tangled remains of the train's hull, sending the fighter into a deadly spin. The nose kissed the ground at over 500-km/h, leaving a trench meters long as it started to spin. The right wing snapped off entirely, ripping a rent in the reactor shielding.

The remaining fuel was touched off when a white-hot metal shard pierced its Kevlar-reinforced tank, blasting the tail clear away from the stricken craft, and breaking its back. The nose ploughed into the fields, burying itself under tons of earth. William was already dead by the reactor containment field failed, and the Extra-Light fusion reactor obliterated what remained.

"This is Echo 4-18 to _Lancaster_." Janet felt her mouth suddenly go dry with the speed of her wing mates death, "Echo 4-19 is down. No chance of survival."

"We copy Echo 4-18." The _Spirit Sights_ Air-Boss replied, "Pull back: we are approaching weapons range."

As if to etherise the point, a star-bight pillar of light traced a line of destruction across the open plains as the Maxell-45 Naval Lasers in the Corvettes nose started making ranging shots. This was added to by a huge explosion and mushroom cloud of dirt as the massive Pontiac-40 Naval Autocannon in the ships nose missed the maglev line by a few scant meters.

_Militia HQ, Costa Mesa__  
__Tharkad, Donegal Province_  
_Lyran Alliance___

Time seemed to stand still in Spendlove's office: Grissum's finger his revolvers trigger at braking point, the slightest squeeze set to send a .45-caliber round through Sinade's head.

Cairo stood just inside the doorway, his own 9mm pointed at the Lyran officer's head, never wavering.

Spendlove and Dancer stood in the hallway, unable to do anything but listen.

"Why help Word of Blake?" Cairo asked, "Why betray your own people?"

"Oh but I haven't." Grissum's insane grin widened, "You see, Word of Blake is only the means to an end: once they have cleansed the Alliance of Davion influences, Archon Katrina Steiner will return, and the entire Inner Sphere will be united under her rule."

"News flash hot shot: that ain't going to happen." Cairo felt like smiling himself, "I've met your dream ruler: she's sharp, I'll giver her that, but the bitch's got the charm of a rattle snake."

"_BASTARD!_" Grissum yelled, his gun spinning round to point at Cairo, who was already diving for the floor. Sinade's elbow snapped back, braking Grissum's grip on her arm, allowing her to brake free. The Lyran officer pulled the trigger, the first round catching Spendlove in the shoulder, spinning him round before he fell to the floor. Dancer leapt across the room, tackling Sinade as she tried to rise, knocking her out of the line of fire.

The move cost him: Grissum's next round caught him in the side just below his ribcage, snagging the bottom of both lungs. Sinade grabbed him by the armpits and dragged him behind a low wall.

"What you go a do a crazy thing like that for?" She asked, trying to stop the bleeding with her hands.

"We're even now." Dancer smiled between coughing up spurts of crimson blood, "Tell Rebecca I'm sorry…" His eyes closed for the last time.

**To Be Continued…**


	49. Relentless

_400-km outside __Tharkad City  
__Tharkad, Donegal Province__  
__Lyran Alliance_

A round from the _Spirit Sights_ NAC struck the maglev line just in front of the speeding train, obliterating both in a huge explosion that was hared in the distant capital.

_Militia HQ, Costa Mesa__  
__Tharkad, Donegal Province_  
_Lyran Alliance_

Cairo shoulder-charged Grissum, knocking the gun from his hand. The two men hit the ground, exchanging punches, kicks, elbows and knees in a life-or-death struggle for the upper hand. Cairo grabbed Grissum by the shoulders and, mustering all the leverage he could, brought his head forward at blinding speed. The loud crack of connecting skulls echoed around the office, sending both men reeling with the force of impact.

Grissum recovered first, diving for the fallen gun. Cairo grabbed the other mans ankle, pulling him back as hard as he could. The Kommandant hit the floor hard, the pistol just out of reach. He kicked back with his other foot, shattering Cairo's nose, sending blood and teeth flying.

Fighting through the pain, Cairo twisted the captive ankle with all his might, twisting Grissum onto his back, and dislocating the joint at the same time. Getting his feet back under himself, he dived onto Grissum, both hands out ready for a hammer blow that would have knocked the other man out if not for his speed. Ignoring the pain of his dislocated ankle, Grissum brought both feet up, catching Cairo in the gut, before kicking out with all his might.

Cairo hit the low coffee table, the glass top shattering under the force of impact. He felt the air being driven from his lungs as thousands of glass shards cut through his tunic and into his back. Reaching out above his head, he grabbed the back of an upturned chair, and swung out with all his might, catching Grissum round the side of the head with enough force t send the man staggering back into a bookcase that collapsed under him.

But Grissum wasn't down for long: lifting a heavy metal trophy from the wreckage of the bookcase, he charged Cairo, winging his improvised weapon with both hands. The blow caught Cairo round the side of the head as he struggled to rise, sending him sprawling across the floor, his ears ringing.

Landing hard enough to re-brake several ribs, Cairo saw Grissum's fallen pistol just before his face. Grabbing it, he swung it round in line with the other man and pulled the trigger.

The hollow click of an empty chamber echoed around the office.

_CNC _Spirit Sight  
_High orbit, Tharkad  
__Donegal Province  
__Lyran Alliance_

Star-Commodore Ivan Leroux collapse back into his seat, physically and mentally drained, "Helm; full reverse. Bring us into a geo-synchronous orbit over Costa Mesa. Guns; fire on any targets of opportunity outside the city limits. Coms; get me the Triad. Time to make this all the reasonability of some other than me."__

_Militia HQ, Costa Mesa_  
_Tharkad, Donegal Province_  
_Lyran Alliance___

"What do you know; out of bullets." Grissum's ever-present grin was starting to show signs of his inner insanity, "Guess I used them all up on the others." He swung the heavy trophy like a club, braking Cairo's hand, and sending the useless gun flying.

Cairo doubled over, clutching his hand, making himself a perfect target for Grissum's booted foot as it kicked upward, hitting his already broken ribs with enough force to lift him off the ground by several centimetres. A second kick, this time connecting with Cairo's face, send him crashing into the wall.

Dragging his opponent to his feet, Grissum held Cairo against the wall, and pressed his thumb into the other mans eye, bursting it like a water-balloon. Cairo screamed in rage and anger, grabbing Grissum by the back of the head with his good hand, and slamming him face first into the wall.

Grissum hit back by grabbing an ornamental letter opener from the desk, and, holding it high over his head, prepared to stab down in what would surly be a killing blow. His body jerked suddenly, his eyes going wide as the knife dropped from his hand, a light smell of burnt flesh and clothe coming from his back. Dropping first to his knees, he fell to the floor, his lifeless eyes staring accusingly at Cairo.

"Sorry that took so long." General Spendlove sat in the doorway; laser pistol held tightly in his good hand, "I think I passed out with the pain."

**To Be Continued…**


	50. The price we pay…

_25km off the Mesa cost__  
__Tharkad, Donegal Province_  
_Lyran Alliance_

"To the eternal sea from which life first came, we commit the body's of our departed comrades. There to be turned into corruption, in the sure and certain hope of the resurrection, and the life of the world to come. Amen." Cairo stood on the deck of a hastily converted barge as it bobbed up and down in the gentle swell.

The remaining members of the Solaris Irregulars stood around him, facing the line of 40 caskets, each draped in a flag. Most where covered in the ComStar insignia, but others displayed the crests of the Federated Suns, the Lyran Alliance, Draconis Combine, Free Rasalhague Republic, as well as Clans Ghost Bear and Smoke Jaguar.

"Company, present!" A Militia sergeant in full dress uniform stood at the end of a lien of soldiers carrying simple bolt-action rifles, "Company aim!" The soldiers aimed the weapons into the air, "FIRE!" The weapons discharged a single volley, "FIRE!" A second volley echoed across the water, "FIRE!" A third and finally volley echoed, the sound fading away to silence. A Militia bugler stepped forward, and raising her instrument with almost mechanical position, started to play the Last Post.

Cairo carefully pressed the single button on the transmitter in his pocket, and the hydraulic ram under the line of caskets started to extend, slowly lifting them to the point where they slipped into the sea. A squadron of Aerospace Fighters passed by in arrowhead formation, one of them peeling up and rolling to the side as they passed the barge.

One by one, the Irregulars stepped forward to the edge of the barge and dropped a single flower into the water after the coffins. Cairo felt tires start to run down from his remaining eye as Rebecca Wolf was pushed forward in wheelchair, her right leg ending in a stump just above where her knee should have been.

"Steven." The gentle touch of his wife's hand on his arm brought Cairo back to reality, "It's time to head back."

_Costa Mesa__  
__Tharkad, Donegal Province_  
_Lyran Alliance_

The open-topped 4-X-4 slowly made its way through the rubble-strewn streets. The last remnants of the Blakist garrison had deliberately hidden themselves in a residential area, forcing the Ghost Bears to hunt them out one by one, doing incredible damage to people's homes.

They passed a platoon of grim faced Militia that stood guard on an open pit as a forensics team from the local police force examined the remains of people executed by Word of Blake death squads. Cairo had seen the lists of the dead: it was mainly Militia and those who fought back against occupation, but also doctors, technicians, teachers, scientist. It seemed like anyone with any technical or scientific training had been rounded up and killed.

"Sir, we're getting reports of a flight of VTOL's heading this way." Bradley sat in the back, trying to concentrate on the radio rather than the carnage around them, "IFF reads as Lyran Military."

"Must be the reinforcements we where promised." Cairo looked round the street, "We'd better head back and get ready to explain what happened."

_Militia HQ, Costa Mesa__  
__Tharkad, Donegal Province_  
_Lyran Alliance_

A pair of _Karnov UR_ Transports approached the Militia compound under the guns of a Star Ghost Bear OmniMech's; their escort of _Warrior_ and _Cavalry_ attack VTOL's circling around the outer perimeter as instructed. Cairo stood waiting in the shadow of a _Gabriel_ light hover tank, watching as its turret mounted Medium Laser tracked the incoming transport: the local Militia was understandable nervous afterGrissum's betrayal.

The transports landed, their rotors kicking up clouds of dust as they continued to spin. The side door opened, allowing a man in LAFF uniform to step out. He looked around until he saw Cairo, and then strode over, followed by a squad of troops.

"Colonel Steven Cairo?" He shouted over the din of the Transports engine.

"That's me." Cairo nodded.

"Sir, I have a warrant for your arrest under charges of High treason against the Lyran people." The officer drew his side arm, "Please sir; don't make this any harder than it already is."

**End of Book 3**


End file.
